SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force!
by ocramed
Summary: This is the "Star Wars" saga from Usagi Tsukino's perspective, as she lives out her life as a Jedi. A sequel to "The Warrior of Stars". Featuring the characters from Sailor Moon, Ranma Half, Star Wars and Star Trek. Re-edited and re-posted. NOW DONE.
1. Chapter 1

**SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force! – By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: this is a mult-genre story.**

**Special Note: This is a sequel to "TRTSS1: The Warrior of Stars" (which features "The Phantom Menace", "Attack of the Clones" and "The Clone Wars").**

**Author's Note: I decided to go ahead and re-post this story with edits and revisions. Think of the events of "Star Wars" (featuring "Revenge of the Sith", "The Dark Times", "A New Hope", "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi")****, but with the emphasis on the POV of Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon****. As always, C&C are welcomed. Enjoy!  
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**Part 1**

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_To recap: War! The Republic is facing constant attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the Republic capital and kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Republic. As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, the Jedi Knights prepare for the moment tide will turn in favor of the Republic..._

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On Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic, Jedi Master Ranma Saotome directed the recovery efforts, still cursing the fact that General Grievous had gotten the best of him.

"Sir," said one of the Cloned Troops. "We managed to contact the medical center for additional hospital transports."

"Good," Ranma said. "And Shaak Ti?"

"She is in stable condition."

"Good," Ranma said with a sigh, thinking about how Grievous had almost murdered his ex-girlfriend, who was also a fellow Jedi Knight. "If I see that bastard Grievous again…"

"Anger, there is no need," said Jedi Grandmaster Yoda, as he floated on a hover chair.

"But he murdered several Jedi, including Master Jinn, and all in the effort to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine. And right now, our forces are being attacked in orbit around Coruscant, and we're waiting for reinforcements? Come on!"

"You have to have faith in your fellow Jedi," said Weapon Master Mace Windu, as he turns away from some troops he had been conferring with only mere moments ago. "Our job on the ground is to make sure that the capital is cleared of Separatist troops, as well as take care of our causalities. Other members of the Order will take care of Count Dooku's forces here, while General Kenobi returns with his fleet."

"I hope you're right, Master Windu," Ranma said, as he looks up at the skies. He knew that what appeared to be fireworks was really an exchange of weapons fire between two great forces, forces that will decide the fate of the Lu'kas Galaxy for generations to come…

"Thankfully, my padawan was able to create and relay to us a special protocol program—an encryption 'hack'—that will make it easy to root out the Separatists' Droid Army," Windu said, as he accepts a personal data device from an aide.

Mace Windu's "padawan" was, of course, Jedi Adept Ami Mizuno, who had accompanied Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to the outer rim of the galaxy to investigate a potential crisis, but had been working on the problem of hacking the droid army's computer protocols throughout much of the conflict between the Republic and the Separatists…

"And as soon as someone notices, the protocols will change," Ranma replied. "I don't knock Ami's skills, but still…"

"A start, it is," Yoda said. "Buy us time to recover, the operation will."

"I hope so, Master Yoda," Ranma said. "I hope so…"

Just then, Senator Kasumi Padme Amidala and her entourage enter the area.

"Master Jedis," Kasumi said, as she steps up.

"Senator, it's not safe for you to be here," Windu said.

"I need not worry for my safety," Kasumi said, as she glances over towards Ranma, who nods his head in reply. "Am I not protected by the finest beings in the galaxy? Besides, Chancellor Palpatine is of Naboo, which makes his welfare my business."

"Still in the clutches of General Grievous, he is," Yoda said. "Rescue plan, implemented it will."

"Even as we speak, General Kenobi's fleet is returning to assist in that rescue."

"That is good," Kasumi said, thinking about her husband Anakin. "Now, if you can excuse me…"

"Of course," Windu said, as he nods his head in reply.

"How're you holding up?" Kasumi asked Ranma.

"I'm fine, I guess," Ranma said. "Did you hear anything from Hoshi and the others?"

"They send their regards," Kasumi said. Hoshi Sato and T'Pol were members of the Naboo Royal Advisory Council within the Naboo's capital city of Theed. But Hoshi was special to Ranma, since they were married.

"Hoshi and T'Pol are okay. No Separatist fleet has been seen since the last time you and Usagi were there."

"Good, it means that Dooku and his goons know what will happen if Naboo is attacked again…"

Ranma looks up at the night skies.

"I just hope that this war draws to a close quickly, so I can see my wife and daughter again…"

Meanwhile in space, General Kenobi's fleet arrives at the outer edge of the Coruscant Star System. Coruscant was the hub of the galaxy; control it, and one can control the galaxy. It has been the center of attention for thousands of generations, and has been named and renamed many times under different regimes, but its importance will always remain the same. As of now, General Kenobi will direct the fleet to attack the Separatist warships, while sending the lesser ranked Jedi to spearhead the effort. In particular, Jedi Adepts Usagi Tsukino and Anakin Skywalker will attempt to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself, from aboard General Grievous's ship, the "Invisible Hand", the flagship of the Separatists. So, after a final debriefing, Usagi, the more senior Jedi, prepares for the assault…

"Oh, well, I guess it's time," Usagi said with a sigh, as she looks on at the battle scene before her. She was dressed in a brown clock, brown jerkin and comfortable, tan clothes and shoes (which reminded the girl of some ninja outfit). Usagi wore a belt that had a blaster on one side and a metal cylinder on the other. She wore her hair in her traditional style (i.e. "twin meatballs"). However, the stern look on her face, and the clasping of her hands behind her back gave off an imposing figure. As Usagi stared out into space, a white (with a helmet with red trim) suited soldier steps forward from behind.

"General Tsukino," the soldier says. "We are ready to lead the assault on the 'Invisible Hand'."

Usagi turns her head slightly.

"Thank you, Commander Cody" she replies. "I just need a few more minutes to be ready."

"Yes, ma'am."

Once alone, Usagi clasped her hands in prayer, and closed her eyes.

"Mother, please guide my hand this day. Please give me the wisdom to do the right thing, so that my friends might have a better future. Amen."

Usagi then straightens herself and turns curtly, with her cloak bellowing, hood down.

"Tho'ohki!" Usagi yelled.

Her pet cabbit "Th-Ohki" comes running up. He then hops unto Usagi's shoulder.

"Hey, little guy," Usagi says with a smile. "You're ready to kick butt?"

"Th-OW!"

As Usagi walks towards the docking bay, she is joined by her partner Wing Commander Anakin Skywalker. Both of them were seasoned Jedi, had only recently been given command of their fleet of ships and cloned troops. While Anakin hated the fact that Usagi was the senior partner, they still consider themselves be close friends. Even when Usagi fell under the sway of the Sith a year ago, and fought each other, they still remained friends.

"Ready, partner?" Anakin asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Usagi says. Then, seeing the assembled troops and fighter pilots, she turns to the group.

"Listen up," Usagi began. "Our job is two-fold. One, we are to break the defenses of the Separatist Count Dooku, and, two, mount a rescue of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. I know that it will be rough, but we've handled tougher situations before."

Anakin steps forward.

"We all have been tested. I lost my hand fighting Dooku, and I will never stop until I see to it that he face justice."

Anakin raised his mechanical fist. It had been repaired and restored since the encounter of the Separatists' secret laboratory on Nalvaan, a near-frozen world located along the galactic rim. Separatist scientists from the Techno Union were mutating and augmenting the natives into soldiers for their armies. Thankfully, that sort of business had been stopped.

"Are you READY?"

"WE ARE!" responded the soldiers.

"Then let's move out," Usagi commanded.

"YAY!"

As the soldiers got into position for their assault, Usagi turns to her friend.

"Good luck, Commander," Usagi says, as she shakes Anakin's hand.

"You, too, General," replies Anakin.

"Tho'ohki!" Usagi says. "Transform!"

"TH-OW!"

CH-CHING!

The cabbit transforms into a mini-space cruiser. For an organic creature, Thumper was perhaps the most powerful vessel in existence. Usagi hops into the vehicle. She takes the control-spheres and pilots Thumper out into space, which was followed by several squadrons of fighters…

Upon the initial run, Usagi and Anakin led their tactical assault squadron, mostly by breaking though the Separatists' defensive line.

"Squadron, on my mark," Usagi said, as she moved the floating spheres within her hands. Jurai technology did not rely on a traditional HUD or joystick, but used gravity to affect the movement of the vehicle. Of course, when dealing with a living ship that was Tho-Ohki, it still had a mind of its own.

"It appears that the Count is expecting us," Anakin said with a smirk. "If only Ahsoka could see this…"

Ahsoka Tano was a Togruta (ivory/blue-striped head-tailed, tanned skinned) girl who was Anakin Skywalker's apprentice. In many ways, she was like her master: short-tempered daredevil who took chances.

"Well, I'm sure that she wished she could," Usagi replied. "Right now, we're the tip of the spear. Right, Tho-Ohki?"

"Th-owww!" the cabbit replied.

"Then let the fun begin," Anakin replied with a smirk.

With that, the Jedi ran into a dense "wall" of droid fighters, ready to pounce at a single motion from the enemy…

After wading through a throng of droid fighters, Usagi and Anakin made it through to the hanger of Count Dooku's ship. Tho-Ohki was only slightly damaged from the battle thus far.

"Tho-Ohki, transform to Robo-mode!" Usagi responds. Luckily, she has had extensive mecha training before arriving to the territory of the Galactic Republic years ago.

"Th-OW!"

CH-CHING!

"Robo-mode" allowed Tho-Ohki to become a large, mechanized robot version of its normal form.

Usagi adjusted the control panel, so that she could fight the droids by the dozens. Once the hanger was cleared, Usagi pops out of the chassis, with her twin purple sabers in hand.

SNAP! SNAP! Hzzzzzz…

"Tho-Ohki, guard the hanger for Anakin," Usagi says, as she ran to the bridge.

"Th-OW!"

Usagi ran down the hall, moving at tremendous speed, thanks to the Force. Unfortunately, her way towards the bridge was blocked by scores of battle-droids.

The droids fire upon Usagi, as she uses her light sabers to block the laser fire. Just as she was about to be overwhelmed-

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

SLICE!

Anakin had just arrived into the docking bay, when Usagi took off. Tho-Ohki had transformed to normal, and took off with Anakin and R2-D2.

"Hey, leave some for me," Anakin said, as he parried various energy pikes.

"Ah, you were taking too long," Usagi replied, as she cut the heads of the androids. She then took out a hand grenade from her belt.

"Duck," Usagi said, as she the grenades into a nearby vent. From what she recalled for the debriefing on the Invisible Hand, the ventilation system ran parallel to the power conduit.

"I thought you hated handling those things," Anakin said, as he ran back.

"Hey, you hang out with an ARC Trooper…you pick up a few things."

When that said, Usagi, Anakin, Tho-Ohki and R2-D2 got to a safe distance…

BOOM!

Tho-Ohki had transformed to Mech-Thumper, in order to shield the blast.

"See? It works!"

Anakin shakes his head.

Finally, after going through yet another throng of droids and "Fish-men" (called "Nemoidians"), Usagi, Anakin and company makes it to the bridge of Count Dooku's flagship. After fighting within the bowels of the ship, the damage caused by the Jedi caused the ship to spiral out of control, and towards to city-planet below. As soon Anakin and Usagi gets to the bridge door, the two took a minute to rest.

"Okay," Usagi says. "Now, remember, we are to capture Dooku alive."

Anakin wanted to take down Dooku for what happened to him back on Geonosis, but decided to bide his time.

"Fine."

"Alright. Ready…steady…GO!"

The Jedi burst through the command decks' door.

"Well, you two have arrived," said the old, bearded man named Count Dooku. Standing next to him was the mechanical General Grievous. Tied to a chair was Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was merely observing the situation.

"Thank goodness you have arrived," said Palpatine.

Usagi nods her head.

"You are under arrest, Count Dooku," Usagi says, as she steps forward.

"How can a little girl like you can arrest ME?" Dooku replied. "General?"

The cyborg rushed at Usagi, while Usagi leaped out of the way. She used her saber to slice away at Grievous' cape, which revealed four mechanical arms…

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! Hzzzzz…

…And each of which had four light sabers.

"Now, we shall end this!" said the cyborg.

Uh, oh! Usagi thought.

"Anakin!" Usagi yelled, as she brought her pair of purple sabers up. "Take care of Dooku-!"

Usagi used her Bene Gesserit and Force (like and dark) training in tandem to avoid the intended multiple strikes from Grievous. The cyborg general knew that Usagi was skilled in the ways of the Force, and in lightsaber dueling in particularly. Grievous himself had been harnessed to be the ultimate warrior: a brilliant tactician and a fearsome warrior. To that end, he was augmented by Count Dooku to become a cyborg with training in the use of the Force, and thus became the one being who put fear in all Jedi, save for a handful of experienced (or foolish) knights who had the skill to put up a fight.

And one of them happened to be his opponent at the moment…

"Foolish girl!" Grievous said, as he swung his swords, driving the fight into another part of the command deck towards the rear. "To think you had been a Sith Acolyte like myself!"

"Even if I was a Sith Acolyte still, I wouldn't BE like you," Usagi said. "You're just another pawn in the Sith's plan for galactic domination, and you don't even know how expendable you are."

Pause.

"Besides, there's nothing about you that I haven't learned to counter, thanks to my time with Count Dooku."

"Then let me show you some that I've learned in your absence," Grievous said, as a port in his chassis opens, and began to blast a sonic concussion that rattles Usagi's head.

"Owie…"

Usagi used her twin 'sabers to counter the General's four. Her strength of will and concentration was being sapped by the sound wave, when something unexpected happens.

"TH-OW!" Mecha-Tho'Ohki yowled, as he blasted through the bulkhead while smaller droids hung unto the cabbit.

"Wha-?" Grievous said in surprise, as he stopped his assault.

Mecha-ThoOhki blasted Grievous in the back, sending him out into space. The vacuum of space began to suck Usagi out, when Thumper grabbed her. As soon as they were at a safe distance, Usagi managed to fine a panel, and activated emergency procedures that allowed the Invisible Hand to automatically seal up the hole in the Plexiglas. However, upon seeing Grievous seeming flying about, using some sort of jet pack as a means of movement, Usagi knew that she would have to face the Sith Acolyte another time.

"Anakin!" Usagi cried, as she remembered what had happened. So, she ran back to the command deck, only to witness Anakin beheading Count Dooku.

"NO-!"

As Dooku's head fell onto the floor, Usagi just shook her head.

"Well, done, Adept Skywalker," Palpatine said. "You do your Jedi Order proud."

A smile is shone on Anakin's face, while Usagi turns away in disgust, for she knew that without Dooku, she wouldn't have the means to expose Darth Sidious to the lime light. Still, she did understand why Anakin would have killed Dooku for what he has done throughout this senseless war.

"Anakin," Usagi said, as she deactivated her lightsaber. "Dooku's lightsaber?"

"I know, I know," Anakin said, as he looks away a bit, as he hands the weapon over to Usagi, for evidence that the Separatist leader was dead. "We should have taken him alive."

"Yes, but it's over now," Usagi said, as she glances over towards the Supreme Chancellor. "And you did rescue the chancellor."

"Indeed," Palpatine said. "Now, if you don't mind…?"

"Oh, sorry, chancellor," Anakin said, as he used his lightsaber to break the bonds holding Palpatine in place.

"Thank you, adept," Palpatine said, as he rubbed his wrists. He then glances towards Usagi.

"At least someone is being helpful-"

Suddenly, the Invisible Hand rocked, as everyone on the command deck stood their ground.

"What was that?" Palaptine asked.

"Sounds like the stabilizers are off," Anaking said, as looked around. He could tell from the feel of the ship was off somehow…

Usagi tapped her wrist band, which emits a holographic representation of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Master, I think we're in trouble," Usagi asked.

"Ami confirms your situation," Kenobi said. "A space has been made on the runaway for an emergency landing. You just need to land it."

"Now, you're talking my language," Anakin said.

"I think we have the pilot we need to land this bucket of bolts," Usagi said. "Please stand-by."

Usagi then turns towards Anakin and Palpatine.

"We have to get to the forward deck."

"But that will take time," Palpatine said.

"We do have a friend," Anakin said, as he turns towards Mecha-Tho'Ohki. "Right, little buddy?"

"Tho-owww!" the cabbit said enthusiastically, as it opens its chassis.

"Chancellor, it's going to be a tight fit, but I think we can make it," Usagi said.

"Oh, well, this will prove to be…interesting," Palpatine said, as he climbs aboard the Mecha-Tho'Ohki.

"Indeed," Anakin said.

"Okay," Usagi said, as she grabbed the controls that manipulated Mech-Tho-Ohki. "Here goes nothing-!"

"I thought that was my line?" Anakin said with a smirk.

"Ha, ha, funny boy," Usagi said, as she maneuvered the mech into the elevator shaft, after Mecha-Tho-Ohki smashed the doors apart. He then dropped down the elevator shaft until he arrived at the right floor…

"Here we are," Usagi said, as she looked around the abandoned flight deck. Already, she could tell that that the Separatist flagship was about to descend into the atmosphere.

"Please, Chancellor, buckle up," Anakin said, as he and Usagi took their seats. "R2: patch into the ship's main systems, and reroute the primary systems. I doubt we have an engineering crew anymore."

"Bee-oop!" R2-D2 (aka "Artoo") replied enthusiastically.

"Tho-ow?" Tho-Ohki asked, as he hoped unto his mistress shoulders.

"It'll be okay," Usagi said, as she buckled up. She then paid attention to the instrument panel.

"We're coming in hot. You sure you can do it?"

"Well, I hope so," Anakin said. "Slowing descent…"

Main thrusters are shut down, but, in the process the ship is ripped in half.

"Oo-ooo!" Artoo replied.

"We, um, lost something," Anakin replied.

"Huh," Usagi replied, as she increased the anti-gravity generators. "I'm stabilizing as much as I can. Just keep that nose up."

"Affirmative," Anakin said.

"If I may be so bold," Palpatine said. "According to your instruments, the ship is on fire."

"I'm well aware of it, sir," Usagi said, as she tapped into the line for Flight Control.

"Flight Control, we need assistance," Usagi said. "Over."

"This is Flight Control," said the response over the air. "We have a hazmat team going to provide assistance, over."

"Appreciate that," Usagi said. She then turns towards her flight partner.

"She's all your, Ani."

"Got it," Anakin said with a heavy sigh. "Here goes nothing…"

In spite of the roughness of the landing, Anakin was able to set down what was left of the Invisible Hand.

"I think we made it," Anakin said.

"Well, any landing is a good one," Usagi said, as she glances over towards Palpatine. "Are you okay, sir?"

"Quite alright," Palpatine said with a smile. "At least, one obstacle has been eliminated."

"Well, I was hoping that Count Dooku would stand trial."

"I told you, I'm sorry about that," Anakin said with annoyance.

"And I accept that, Ani. It's just that I wanted him alive mostly for my benefit, I guess..."

A short time later...

"We're glad that you're back, Chancellor," said Jedi Master Windu, as he and Palpatine's staff arrived at the steps of the Senate building to await Palpatine's return.

"I do have Adepts Skywalker and Tsukino to thank for," Palpatine said with a smile, as he motions towards Usagi and Anakin.

"Accomplishments, we're proud of," said Jedi Master Yoda. "Sadly, lost many good Jedi, we have."

"So, I heard," Palpatine said, as he nods somberly, as he glances over at Anakin. Anakin, having heard of what happened to his master, was staring out into the distance...

"Perhaps, I can help Young Skywalker by making a formal request to your council," Palpatine said.

"Request?" Windu replied.

"Yes. Since Master Jinn is no longer with us, perhaps Young Skywalker can take his place on your council?"

"Unusual, this is," Yoda said.

"With all due respect, the Jedi on the council select those who can serve," Mace said. "In fact, we were considering placing Adept Tsukino on the council, since we feel that she has redeemed herself sufficiently."

"And Young Anakin is not qualified?" Palpatine said. "Had he not served well under Master Kenobi's command, as well as took on an apprentice?"

Yoda and Windu glance at each other, before returning their collective gaze over towards the Supreme Chancellor.

"We will...honor your request by honoring Master Jinn's sacrifice," Windu said evenly.

"Thank, Master Jedi," Palpatine said. "You honor me with your acceptance of my request."

"Chancellor, there are others who wish to confer with you," said one of Palpatine's aides.

"Now, we can conduct additional business inside," Palpatine said. "Please, join me. I wish to know of your plans to deal with General Grievous..."

With that, Palpatine and his entourage go inside the Senate building.

Meanwhile, Usagi yawns.

"Geez," Usagi said, as she hands her cabbit a carrot to chew on. "I can't wait until I get some sleep..."

Usagi turns towards Anakin.

"Ani, are you okay?" Usagi said, as she goes over to her friend and colleague.

"I don't know," Anakin said, as he stared off into the distance. "I should have been here. I should have...gone after Grievous instead of Dooku."

"And we'll get him," Usagi said. "This war is not yet over."

"I know, and that's what is so frustrating..."

"Hey, guys," Ranma said, as he and Kasumi Padme Amidala walked up to their friends.

"Ani," Padme said.

"Padme," Anakin said, as he rushes over to his wife of five years.

"We better leave them alone," Ranma said, as he begins to drag Usagi away.

"But I haven't said hello yet!" Usagi said.

Ranma then whispers something in Usagi's ear.

"Oh, I see," Usagi said, having been told by Ranma that Kasumi was pregnant.

"Yeah, I figured that we should leave those two alone," Ranma said. "In the mean time, let's go celebrate your act of heroism."

"Alright, but you're buying..."

With that, the old friends go out to the nearest bar for some merriment.

A day later …

On behalf of Palpatine, Anakin was given a seat on the Jedi Council, much to the consternation of the council itself. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi, still grieving the lost of his friend Qui-Gon Jinn, and Usagi were assigned the task of tracking down General Grievous, since he was the key to end this so-called "Clone War".

At the Jedi Temple, two friends were having an argument.

"I thought that you'd be proud of me," Anakin retorted.

"Look, I am, Ani," Usagi says, as she wrapped her robes around her. It seems to get very chili as of late. "I just wish that we could have followed orders, instead of you hot-dogging all the time."

Anakin gets angry.

"Palpatine was right about you."

"And that would be…?"

"You wanted to reap the rewards! YOU wanted to be a member of the Jedi Council!"

"I don't CARE about being on the council! Long before YOU were born, I was leading armies! Long before you were born, I was in charge of an empire!"

Usagi was referring about her time when she, Ranma, Hoshi and T'Pol had spent many years on the planet Arrakis, thanks to a temporal rift while on assignment for the Enterprise (under the command of Jonathon Archer). On Arrakis, otherwise known as "Dune", a young man named Paul Atriedes had chosen her to be his "right hand", as he began his ascent towards being a "Messiah". And it was during that time that Paul's mother Jessica had trained Usagi in the ways of the Bene Gesserit, an order that was part nunnery, part witchery (depending on who one asks). Before Usagi and her friends left for home, she became known as "the Chancellor-Princess Serena, the 'Usa'Dib'", the only one to be promoted to the rank of Mother Superior independent of the Order proper. How that came about, is another story.

Usagi sighed.

"Look, Ani, I am proud of you. But the way things went will bring nothing but trouble. Trust me, I've seen enough political intrigue to know when something is about to go down. I'm just looking after your best interest, that's all."

Usagi gave Anakin a peck on the cheek.

"Look, I promise to visit Padme before I leave on my mission with Master Kenobi. Just be careful."

"Yeah, well, whatever," Anakin said, as he begins to walk away. "At least Ahsoka still believes in me…"

Just then, Ranma and Ami walk up to Usagi.

"What's wrong with Ani?" Ranma asked.

"He's just mad that he wasn't on the Jedi Council as a master," Usagi said with a sigh. "He thinks that because of Master Jinn's death, the rest of the council doesn't have to confer upon him the respect he deserves."

"Do you think he deserves his place amongst the council?" Ami asked.

"I don't know, to be honest, it isn't fair that the council is using Ani to keep tabs on Palpatine," Usagi said.  
"But didn't you say that you were uncomfortable being around Palpatine?" Ranma asked.

"I did, but that could be just nerves. But, we talk about this later. Um, can you watch Tho-Ohki for a moment? I got to see Padme."

"Sure," Ami said. "Come on, little guy?"

"Ooow," Tho-Ohki said, as he hops over to the Ami's right shoulder. "Th-oww?"

"It'll be okay, little guy," Usagi said.

With that, Usagi turned and leaves.

"But…Anakin proved himself time and time again," Ami said, as she turned towards Ranma. "And he trained Ahsoka reasonably well."

"I'll have to talk to Master Yoda about this," Ranma said. "Something's not right around here, that's for sure…"

No one noticed the fact that Anakin was still present. Had they did, they would have noticed the darkening of Anakin's aura…

At the quarters of Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo, two friends were celebrating…

"Ah, thank you, Usagi," Padme said, as she hugged her old friend. She received a pair of booties that Usagi managed to make during her spare time.

"It's no problem," Usagi replied. "Had I known you were having twins, I would have made another."

"Ah, it's okay. The thought counts."

Padme was six months pregnant, and was beginning to show. So far, her elaborate clothing was hiding this fact.

"Is there anything going on with Ani?" Padme asked. "I haven't seen him as often as I would like."

"You know how it is," Usagi replies. "War gets to anyone."

"But you seem to be okay."

"That's because I'm already nuts!"

"Seriously, how do you do it?"

"One day at a time, my friend. You got to remember, I've been through more conflicts that I care to remember. You get comfortable with your experiences after a while."

"Well, I hope that Ani can come to me, and talk about what he is feeling."

"Just give him time. He's the big man on campus these days."

"I hope you're right, Usagi," Padme said. "I hope you're right…"

A few days later, Kenobi's fleet arrived just outside of the Utapau Star System. Jedi Knights General Usagi Tsukino, Commander Ami Mizuno and General Ranma Saotome accompanied Jedi Knight High General Obi-Wan Kenobi to the last stronghold of the Separatists, where General Grievous will be. Since Jedi Knight Commander Anakin Skywalker was selected by the chancellor to represent him on the Jedi Council, Anakin stayed behind on Coruscant.

"I guess that you would want to lead the troops, Master Kenobi," Usagi says.

"Only if I need to, Usagi," Kenobi replied. "You've earned that right…you all have."

Usagi smiles at that.

Kenobi turns towards Ranma and Ami.

"When the time has come, I want you two to initiate the assault," Kenobi said.

"How come I can't come, and take point?" Ranma complained.

"Because YOU, my friend, break things," Kenobi said with a smile. "Fine in most cases, but stealth is in order."

"Yeah, right!"

Upon touching the surface of the planet, Usagi and Kenobi were able to locate General Grievous, and then call in an assault, led by Ranma and Ami. The final assault on the forces of General Grievous was fierce. The war was at a crossroads of sorts. During the fight, Ami, who was in a mobile command unit, was wounded in the crossfire, and had to be evacuated to _The Serenity_, their flagship. After hours of fighting, Kenobi, Ranma and Usagi had Grievous cornered.

"This is the end of the line, General," said Kenobi, as he and his fellow knights do battle.

Grievous merely snarled, as he charged forward.

Working as one, Usagi and Kenobi blocked the attacks. Then, they countered the attacks; Ranma took the high road, Usagi took the low road and Kenobi went straight for the center.

And then, something happened.

At the last second, Grievous kicked Usagi down. Taken advantage of this, Grievous bared down on her, like a spinning blade of death…

"No!" yelled Kenobi, as he moved to intercept the attack.

SLICE!

Grievous was able to hold Ranma back with his other arms, as he finished off Kenobi.

Just as Usagi could see again, she saw what had happened Kenobi.

"No…NOOOOOOO!" Usagi cried.

"Well, that's one Jedi," Grievous smirked, as he began to laugh maniacally.

Ranma, seeing his comrade down, fought harder. Using Grievous' own weapons, the pig-tailed Jedi guided his own weapon against Grievous' and…

SLICE!

Ranma managed slice off an arm.

"Why you-!"

SLICE! SLICE!

"Argh!" Grievous says, as he runs away.

"Usagi, take care of him!" Ranma said, as he ran after Grievous…

Usagi immediately went down to Kenobi's level.

"Master, please die!" Usagi said tearfully, as she checked on her master's wounds. "Don't die because of me and my carelessness!"

Kenobi managed to open his eyes.

"Don't cry," Kenobi said gently. "I knew that one day, I will perish for what I believe in. So, today...my life...ends, but I know that you will carry on my legacy, and the legacy...of those who have come before me..."

Usagi nods her head in reply. Essentially, her master was reminding her that her training as a Jedi carried the weight of her master's influence, and the influence of those Jedi who came before him...

"Yes, Master," Usagi replied.

"But mostly, I'm just glad that I lived long enough to see you redeemed...as a Jedi Knight..."

And with that, Obi-Wan Kenobi, master of Usagi Tsukino, and padawan of Qui-Gon Jinn, dies, leaving a grief-stricken Usagi behind...

A day later…

"Usagi," said a voice.

"Uhhh," Usagi says, as she wakes up. Ever since that fight with Grievous, she's been in and out of sleep, not wanting to deal with the loss of Obi-Wan. With her were Tho-Ohki, Ami, Yoda and Ranma were on the Alderaan ship helmed by Bail Organa. Unfortunately, Ami had been injured when those Clone Troops under her command suddenly turned on her. In fact, all the Clone Troops had turned on the Jedi everywhere in the galaxy, forcing the surviving Jedi to flee. However, amazingly enough, Commander Cody was the only clone to not have turned against his superiors, and, in fact, rescued Ami during the chaos, but sacrificing his life in the end.

And now, it was time to regroup and learn how things have turned sour for the Jedi, prompting a need to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, within the backdrop of a major address being giving to the Galactic Senate by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine...

"Oh, Master Yoda…"

"Listen well, young one," Yoda says. "Made their move, the Sith have…"

"And we need to take care of a few things on Coruscant," Ranma says grimly. "But first, we need to go to the Jedi Temple to find out what the hell happened."

"Okay," Usagi said, as she got up. "Let me…see Ami."

A few minutes later, Usagi was by Ami's side.

"Hey," Usagi said, as she knells by Ami's side.

Ami looks up.

"Hi," Ami replied. "You're up. I was getting worried."

"I know," Usagi said with a smile.

Pause.

"Oh, Ami," Usagi said, as she held her friend's hand. "You've done so much for me, and yet I've done little for you. I…I hope that I can make it up to you someday."

"My job has been to make sure you get back home," Ami said with a smile. "I'll be okay."

"It better," Usagi said with a smile.

"I'll be sure to look after her," said Senator Bail Organa.

"Thanks," Usagi said, as she rises to her feet. She takes one last look at Ami, and then she turns away…

With Ami left in Bail's care, Yoda, Ranma and Usagi went to the Jedi Temple, which was full of Cloned Troopers. With Palpatine giving a speech in front of the full Galactic Senate, declaring the glory of a new era of governance, the three Jedi moved to retrieve key evidence as to how Palpatine could have gotten away with so much, now that it was clear that he was the Sith Lord the Jedi were looking for.

And no amount of force will stop them from finding the answers.

SLICE!

"Argh!" yelled a Clone Trooper.

Hzzzz-SNAP!

Ranma shuts off his lightsaber, as he, Yoda and Usagi enters the security records room, where they discovered the truth behind Palpatine's schemes, and how Anakin was involved.

"DAMN!" Ranma roared, as he punched a fist through a wall…after seeing the security recordings of what took place in both the temple and in Palpatine's office.

"Stop, they must be," Yoda says.

"I'll go after the Palpatine," Ranma said.

"No, confront Palpatine I will," says Yoda. "The honor of the Jedi, it is."

"Master, Ranma should go with you to confront the Chancellor," Usagi said. "I'll deal with Anakin. If he sees Ranma, he'll be combative."

"Very well," Yoda said. He then turns towards Ranma. "Prepared, are you?"

"Just stop me, master," Ranma said, as he cracked his knuckles. "After what happened to our friends and colleagues, Palpatine will pay for what he has done."

"Avoid the Darkside, you must," Yoda admonished. "Careful, you must be."

"Yes, master…"

Yoda turns towards Usagi.

"Careful, you must be, but luck, I wish it to you," Yoda said.

"Thank you, master," Usagi said. "I'll do what I can to remedy the situation…"

After going underground, Usagi and Ami, who was well enough to accompany Usagi on her mission, paid Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo a visit…

"You…you can't be telling the truth!" Padme laments.

"As irresponsible as Usagi tends to be," T'Pol begins, as she hands Padme her tea, "she has always been truthful."

T'Pol was on Coruscant to help deal with the aftermath of the so-called "Clone Wars". To that end, she has been serving Padme as her assistant in matters of state.

Padme looks at Usagi, and then at Ami, who was doing his best to avoid looking at her.

Usagi then clasped Padme's hands. Earlier in the month, Usagi, T'Pol, Hoshi and Padme had gotten together to give Padme a baby shower.

"All we want to bring Anakin back from the Darkside. If he is willing to surrender, I'm sure he'll be fine," Ami said.

"Yes," Usagi says. "You'll have my word that he won't be harmed. We just need to find him first."

Padme looks at T'Pol, then at Ami and finally at Usagi.

"I…I don't know where he is."

Usagi sighed, as she stands up.

"Thank you for the tea, Padme," Usagi said.

"Thank you," Ami said with a bow.

As Usagi and Ami leave in an air speeder, Padme turns to T'Pol.

"I want you to inform Naboo that I will take a personal leave of absence; Ambassador Binks shall take over my duties for the time being. And I will take C3-P0 with me."

"What shall I tell them about destination?"

"Tell them nothing. This is a personal matter."

"Very well," T'Pol says, as she secretly activates the micro-homing device that was planted in Padme's clothes. Earlier, Usagi told T'Pol about what had happened, and made some arrangements in the event that Padme would try to find Anakin; their visit was for the express purpose of prompting the much-needed response necessary to locate Anakin…

* * *

From the private diary of Usagi Tsukino:

_"We waited until Padme left Coruscant before following her. We ended up in Mustafar, a literal hellhole that served as both a home for a refinery station. Anakin was sent there to get the Separatists to surrender…while conveniently eliminating them. We came upon the scene to see Anakin choking Padme, accusing her of betraying his trust. Attacking Padme was bad enough, but when he attacked Ami, using the 'Force Lightning' technique on her for trying to help Padme, which was the end of the line for me where Anakin was concerned…"_

_

* * *

_

BLAM! BLAM!

Usagi blocked Anakin's blows, as they leaped upon the hover platforms that dotted the river of lava, as the two Jedi traded.

"You will pay for your lies!" Anakin said, as he swung his sword to take Usagi's head.

Ranma moved to block.

"Open your damn eyes, Anakin! Palpatine is EVIL! I know! I served him through Dooku, remember!"

"No, I don't believe you!"

Anakin managed to slice off one end of Usagi's lightsaber, just as Usagi leaps off to a nearby ledge.

"It's over!" Usagi said, as he threw his weapon into the river of lava. "I got the high ground!"

"That doesn't matter. I will be victorious!"

"Please, don't!" Usagi said, as she began to cry. Her instincts and training were at war with her sense of mercy and compassion. But she knew that Anakin did not believe her, and so self-preservation was the deciding factor.

Anakin somersaulted over to Ranma, intent on cutting him down…

FWISH!

A blade made of light appeared in Usagi's hand. In a single stroke, Usagi cut off Anakin's arms and legs with his 'psi-sword'.

Anakin had forgotten about the Jedi ability to will a sword made of pure energy, an ability that was made possible through the exchange of knowledge between the Jedi, and Usagi and her fellow trans-dimensional travelers.

"AHHHHH-!" Anakin screamed, as he rolled close to the river of lava, and began to burn…

Usagi picked up Anakin's lightsaber, and stood transfixed while her old friend was consumed by his fate.

"Oh, Ani," Usagi said, as she shook her head. "You should have listened to me…"

Usagi…

"Ami?" said Usagi aloud. She could feel her friend's life force slipping. "AMI-!"

Usagi took one last look at Anakin burning before turning to leave…

* * *

From the diary of Usagi Tsukino:

_Anakin was a good man who gave into his anger one too many times…and Palpatine used that to his advantage. He didn't die from his wounds, by the way. He ended up in an environmental suit that made his 'Darth Vader' persona all the more horrific and menacing. He would continue to be a threat for years to come. Meanwhile, Ami and Padme were mortally wounded because of Anakin's actions. I made the decision to save Padme's life for the sake of the children, costing Ami's. Still, I knew in my being that I could bring Ami back, even if it takes years to do so, either through cloning, or through other means. _

_After leaving Mustafar, I immediately met up with the others at Polis Massa, a planetoid located in the Outer Rim. There, I learned that Master Yoda and Ranma failed to kill Palpatine, although Ranma had gotten some good hits during the process. He really took it hard for not avenging the death of Aayla Secura. Nevertheless, while the remaining Jedi began the process of regrouping, Palpatine used his hard-won victory as a rallying cry 'proving' that the Jedi needed to be destroyed. So, he instituted a pogrom to finish off what was left of the Jedi. _

_Meanwhile, with the birth of Padme's children Luke and Leia, it was decided that it would be best to fake Padme's death while placing her in cryo-stasis, to be watched over by Hoshi and T'Pol, while splitting the twins up, with me taking Luke to Tattooine to be with his uncle Lars and his aunt Beru (with me keeping tabs on Luke as a hired hand on Lars' moisture farm), and Ranma taking Leia, to be adopted by Senator Bail Organa, to Alderaan to be her governess. I asked Ranma why he wanted to be in his girl form. He replied that his failure to stop Palpatine warranted a penance. Finally, Master Yoda would go into a self-imposed exile on the frontier world of Dagobah, one of the Jedi's numerous training grounds. It would be there where Yoda would direct Usagi and Ranma on their Jedi activities, having set up a network from which we could undermine the self-proclaim "Emperor" Palpatine. How he was able to convince the Galactic Senate that he should become a dictator says to me that there were more people involved in his ascent than just him and Anakin…no, 'Darth Vader'."_

_In the years since the start of the dark times, Ranma and I watched our respective "assignments" grow and develop. We knew that Luke and Leia were Force-sensitive, so we secretly trained the children in the ways of the Force. Other than a few incidents, Ranma and I rarely saw each other, such as the time when we confronted a rogue Jedi named Asharaad Hett, and old rival of Ranma's, or when we forced to move Padme's body to Tattooine when Queen Apailana of Naboo was assassinated by Storm Troopers for her role in sheltering Jedi. Perhaps the hardest part in coping with Palpatine's reign was when we faced Darth Vader's apprentice, such as Ahsoka Tano (who turned to the Darkside, because she cared for Vader more than anything else) and Galen Merek (aka "Starkiller"). There were other "incidents" that popped during the initial years of the Sith's ascendency, but will be only a matter of time before we were ready to strike against the Palapatine's "Galactic Empire" in earnest._

* * *

The planet of Aldreraan is a mountainous world that with snow-capped hills. It was once a colony of Naboo before gaining its independence nearly

"Leia, I told you that girls shouldn't fight," Senator Bail Organa said, as he admonished her daughter. Princess Leia was scraped and bruised with torn clothes. Apparently, someone insulted her about having a nanny at her age.

"Well, 'Winter' started it!"

"Leia, you need to stop acting like a tomboy."

"Why won't you accept me for what I am, Daddy? I hate YOU!"

As Leia runs out of the room, Bail sighs. Leia did have her biological mother's spirit, after all.

Meanwhile, Leia ran into the family's private gymnasium, where her nanny, Lady Ranko of Naboo is training in martial arts.

"Ranko!"

Ranko stopped her katas, and turned to face her ward.

"Leia, what's wrong?"

"Daddy doesn't understand me," Leia cried, as she ran into Ranko's arms.

Ranko hugged the girl, whom was like a daughter to her. She should know, since she was her birth mother.

"Your father is just concerned that you won't be able to one day become a Senator like him. That's all."

Leia, with watered eyes, looks at her nanny.

"Father…doesn't hate me?"

"Of course not! He is proud of you, little one."

Leia sniffles and nods her head.

"Leia?"

Leia and Ranko turn to see Bail standing at the entrance of the gym room.

"Father!" Leia says, as she run into Bail's arms. "I'm sorry for…for…"

"It's okay. Look, you better get cleaned up for dinner."

Leia nods her head, and runs out the room.

"Just like Padme," Bail chuckles, as he looks at her departing foster daughter.

"Bail, have you thought of my proposal?" Ranko says, as she towels herself off.

Bail sighs.

"Is taking her on a ten-year training journey really necessary?" Bail asks.

"Well, you did say that you wish that she takes your place as the representative of Alderaan someday," Ranko replies. "What a better way of preparing her for THAT role while in the midst of training? And it's not like she will be away from home forever…just during the designated vacation period outside of school session."

"Hmmm. And I'm always off world on Senate business. It could work, my friend."

"It had better work. Leia may be the only chance all of us has, if the rest of us fail in ending the reign of the Sith."

Meanwhile, on Tattooine…

"Pull!

BANG!

"Yeah!" said young farm-boy Luke Skywalker, as he and his buddies cheered at Luke's successful shot. While on break from chores at the Lars farm, collecting moisture, Luke and his friends were "skeet shooting".

"That was a good shot, Luke!" said one of his friends.

"I'm the best!"

"Hey, Luke!" Usagi says, as she comes running up to Luke and his friends. Every harvest, Usagi comes down from the mountains to test Luke's potential while working on Lars' farm. "Luke, your Aunt wants you to go to town to pick up supplies-"

"In a minute. Say, you want to try and take a shot?"

Usagi looks at Luke, his friends and at the skeet shooter.

"Okay…"

"You handle a blaster of this type before?"

"Please. I live out in the desert, remember?"

"You never told me why, considering the fact that Tuskin Raiders live out there."

"Let's just say that I am strong in the ways of the Force."

"Yeah, right!"

Usagi went to the skeet shooter, and turned it on setting "11".

"'11'? You think you're going to make that shot?"

"Humph. Never think…KNOW. Pull!

A multiple barrage of disks fly up in the air…

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM-!

Usagi made the target.

"Lucky shot!"

"Oh?" Usagi said, as she puts on her bandanna over her eyes. "Pull!"

Another barrage of disks fly up in the air…

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM-!

Usagi made her target.

"Whoa…"

"Hmmm. I guess I made it," Usagi said with a grin.

"Show off," Luke replied.

* * *

From the diary of Usagi Tsukino:

_Anyway, T'Pol ended up marrying into the Amidala family, and became the Ambassador of Naboo. Her service to Naboo was distinguished enough that she received the chance to be elected 'Queen'. Her temperament allowed Naboo to whether the Emperor's consolidation of power, and thus kept that world safe from harm._ _Hoshi Sato remained on Tattooine as Watto the Junkman's manager. She was basically Usagi's eyes and ears, since Usagi more or less stayed out in the desert, as well as keeping an eye on Padme's stored body. Meanwhile, thanks to my contacts on the cloning world of Camino, coupled with my Silver Millennium Crystal, I was able to create a baby clone of Ami, essentially causing her to be reborn. Still, I knew that I couldn't keep the baby (it felt weird raising one of your best friends into adulthood), so, I gave her away to the most unlikely of people…_

_

* * *

_

Sometime later on the trading world of Corellia "Ah, man!" said the young Han Solo, as he wanders the streets of the planet's largest port. While he was good to be home, he hated the fact that he was home because he had been thrown out of the Imperial Academy. It wasn't HIS fault that the home planet of the academy's moon was accidentally blown up! Still, he was glad that he wasn't thrown into prison.

Han wandered the streets. He didn't have many prospects, and he certainly didn't have a family to go to. Maybe he should take up on that offer his friend Lando had, well, offered to him.

Han would have remained in deep thought, had he not heard the wailing of a baby.

Curious, he went to investigate the sound…and discovered-

"A baby?" said Han, as he peeked behind the dumpster. Sure enough, there was a baby lying in a basket, wrapped in a blue blanket.

"What am I going to do with you?" Han mused. "Surely, there's a nice family that can pay handsomely for-"

The baby had grabbed Han's finger, and cooing contently.

"Oh, no," Han said. "Don't get attached to me, kid."

The baby giggled.

The only identifier was a bracelet with the name "Ami Mizuno" etched in the metal, as well as some weird, short and blue, rod that had an equally weird, metal symbol ornament on it; there was also a then metal box that was apparently a timed lock on it. It read: "To be opened upon Ami's sixteenth birthday". Plus, stashed within the basket was a bankcard and note asking whoever found Ami to take care of her. If Han did accept the responsibility, the bankcard will be replenished on a monthly basis.

"Alright, kid, let's go," Han said, as he picks the basket up. He wasn't sure if the note was legit or not, but he'll do his best to carry out the wishes of the note. And unknown to him, a certain meatball-headed girl was watching Han at a distance, before leaving the scene…

* * *

From the diary of Usagi Tsukino:

_We all did our part to lay low for a while, secretly undermining Palpatine's efforts, until Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila chose to openly defy Palpatine. I had worked with her before, so I knew that she would make a good leader for the Rebellion. T'Pol's position as queen of Naboo did much to shield Mon from Imperial scrutiny for a long time, before even she had to disassociate her court from Mon's activities…at least, officially, that is. At any rate, when Ranma left Alderaan to join me on Tattooine, Leia had enough will, clout and skill to take Bail's place as Senator of Alderaan. During that time, Mon introduced Leia to what we were secretly doing, and thus joined the Rebellion as a courier. And it was during that time that the blue prints for the 'Death Star'—an artificial planetoid capable of untold amount of destruction—were 'acquired'.__ Unfortunately__, somehow, Darth Vader tracked Leia down to Tattooine, where Ranma and I were officially 'retired', although Fate had other plans in mind…_

_

* * *

_

"Well, what do you know?" Usagi said, as she turns towards the entrance of the home of the Lars family. She had been helping Beru as her housekeeper for many years now.

"Yeah, how did R2-D2 and C3-P0 get here?" Ranma asked, as he and Luke Skywalker began to clean up droids. Ranma's official cover was that of a mechanic from Mos Espa, where he ran a Watto the Todarian's shop with his wife Hoshi. Hoshi served as Watto's bookkeeper, which was a step down from the days when she served on Naboo's royal advisory council

"You know these two?" Luke asked, as he began to polish the droids.

"Yeah," Usagi said. "But where did you get them?"

"Well, with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru not back from Anchorhead, I was given permission to purchase droids to help around the place," Luke said. "So, I got them from the Jawa junk dealers. Hopefully, they will be enough to allow me to get out of here."

"You still want to join the Imperial Academy?" Ranma said with a frown.

"Well, may-be…"

"Luke, right now, there is the Imperials and the Rebel Alliance," Usagi said. "You don't want to get caught up in that."

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a moisture farmer, you know," Luke said. "I know that Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru don't want me to leave, but I want to at least think that you two support me."

"Well, I don't know about you, but at least we should know why these droids are here," Ranma said, as he looks up at the protocol droid. "So, what of it?"

"I was forced to leave the 'Tantive IV' by R2-D2," Threepio said.

"Wait, what did you say?" Ranma asked.

"Isn't that Raymond Antilles' ship?" Usagi asked.

"Bee-oop-urk!" R2-D2 replied.

"What did he say?" Luke asked.

"He just confirmed what Master Ranma has confirmed," Threepio said.

"Erk-oork-op!"

"And, R2-D2 just said that she has a message for…'The Legendary Onitoyota'. But why would he want to give a message to a ravenous creature, from Naboo, known for consuming more than its weight?"

"Oh, my," Usagi said, as she sits down. "I haven't heard that name in years, since before the Clone Wars…"

"Wait, how can you be around to have heard that before the Clone Wars?" Luke asked. "You're no older than I am?"

"Luke, there is a lot about me that you wouldn't believe," Usagi said with a sigh.

"But Usagi IS a glutton," Ranma said jokingly. "She can put away a bantha in a single day."

"Ranma, please," Usagi said with indignation. "TWO, if I'm lucky."

"What's going on?" Luke said. "I don't understand any of this…"

"Usagi?" Ranma asked. "Do you want to tell Luke, or should I?"

"Let's hear what the message is all about first, and then go from there," Usagi said, with a sigh. She knew that this day was coming, when she and her fellow Jedi would have to be involved in the affairs of the galaxy, once again.

"And I was SO looking forward to retirement, too…"

**Tbc.**


	2. Chapter 2

**SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force! – By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: this is a multi-genre story.**

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**Part 2**

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"What do you think the message is all about?" Luke asked.

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" Usagi said, as she turns towards the astromech droid. "Artoo?"

"Bee-o-oop!" Artoo replied, as it produces a holographic image of Princess Leia, Senator of Alderaan.

"She's beautiful," Luke said.

"Leia," Ranma said quietly.

"You know her?"

"Yes, I do, from a long time ago," Ranma said with a sigh.

"Hush," Usagi said, as she patted her knee to feed her pet cabbit with carrots. "I have to hear this message…"

"General Tsukino: Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars; now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire," Leia said. "I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person; but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, 'Onitoyota'; you're my only hope."

Pause.

"Also, I once had a governess named 'Ranko Tendo', who served my father's house for many years, who immigrated to Tattooine," Leia said. "If you know of her, or see her, let her know that I consider her my mother in every way possible. This is Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, signing off, and may the Force be with you."

With that, the image disappears.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Ranma, you okay?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah, what of it?' Ranma said, as he wiped away a tear. "Men don't cry, remember?"

"Whatever you say, Ranma…"

"I can't believe that YOU are some 'general'," Luke said incredulously.

"Why not?" Usagi said. "I can fight, too, you know!"

"Yeah, right! I like to see that…"

"Hey, what's that on your shirt?" Usagi said, as she points at Luke's shirt.

"What?" Luke said, as he looks down, until Usagi tapped his nose with her finger. "Ow!"

"Ha, ha!"

"Usagi…?"

"Knock it off, you two," Ranma said, as he turned to look at Threepio. "Threepio?"

"Yes, Master Ranma?" Threepio asked.

"Omega-Seven-Two-Six-Six-Two-Enable."

"Oh!" Threepio said, as he jerked a bit.

"What did you do?" Luke asked.

"Years ago, we encrypt some of the files within Threepio's memory core, in order to hide certain information concerning…your father, Luke. I'm simply decrypting those files about him."

"Yes, what about him?" Luke asked. "He was a pilot during the Clone Wars."

"Luke, your father was more than just a pilot, regardless of what your uncle has told you," Usagi said, as she gets up from her seat. She them pressed against a wall of the dining room, revealing a hidden compartment.

"Hey, I didn't know that!" Luke said. "Does Uncle Owen know?"

"No, and neither does your aunt," Usagi said, as she removes a small, wooden box from within.

"This…is your inheritance," Usagi said, as she opens the box, revealing a long, cylinder device of some kind…

"Is that…?" Luke asked.

"Yes, kid," Ranma said with a smile. "That is your father's light saber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. It's not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age."

"Huh, I see…"

Luke reaches into the box, and takes out the weapon. He felt the surface of the weapon, trying to get some feel of his father's legacy…

SNAP-Hzzzz…

The blue gleam of the energy blade lit up the room.

"Whoa," Luke said, as he twirls the blade around.

"For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, before the dark times...before the Empire," Ranma said solemnly.

"May I keep it?" Luke asked, as he deactivates the weapon.

"It's yours, Luke," Usagi said. "After all, it belonged to your father."

"Then my father…was a Jedi?"

"He was one of the best of his era."

"Hey, I take offense to that remark," Ranma said with indignation.

"Wait, YOU are a Jedi?" Luke asked.

"So was Usagi."

"Then…why are you two here?" Luke asked. "What happened to my father? Uncle Owen said that he died before I was born."

"A Sith Lord named Darth Vader betrayed and murdered your father…and your mother," Usagi said tiredly. "Vader was once a Jedi who was supposed to defeat those who worshipped the Dark Side of the Force. Instead, he himself fell to the Dark Side, and has helped to cause the near-extinction of all Jedi ever since, while the reach of the Galactic Empire increases."

"Is that why you two are here?" Luke asked. "Are you…hiding?"

"Actually, I'm here to protect to protect you from the likes of Vader and the Empire," Usagi said.

"And I'm retired," Ranma said, as he glances over towards the Artoo and Threepio. "At least, I thought so…"

"Luke, if the droids are here, then the Imperial forces are not that far behind," Usagi said. "I know you wanted to leave here to become a pilot, but you might have to learn the ways of the Force. If nothing else, you need to be able to defend yourself."

"The Force, huh?" Luke asked. "What's that?"

"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."

"Sounds… lovely."

"Unfortunately, the Sith, the mortal enemies of the Jedi, know how to utilize the Force as well to enhance their power," Ranma said. "Nasty stuff."

"So, you two can utilize the Force?" Luke said.

"Sure," Usagi said. She turns towards Ranma.

"You still remember how to use a lightsaber, huh?" Usagi grinned.

"Yeah, like you were ever better than me," Ranma scoffed.

"Huh?" Luke said.

An hour later, in a secluded valley nearby…

"Hu-wah!" Usagi said, as she nearly swept Ranma off his feet, while arc her twin lightsabers.

Ranma leaped over the intended attack, while blocking the intended blow with his own weapon.

"Oh, my," Threepio said, as he, Artoo, Luke and Thop-Ohki watched as two Jedi Knights engaged in a friendly sparring match.

"Orrrk-oop!" Artoo replied.

"Whoa," Luke said, amazed at what he saw.

Ranma managed to flip over Usagi, and was about to charge forward when he realized that Usagi had performed a Force attack that nearly bowled Ranma over.

"Hey!" Ranma said. "You play that way? Let's."

Ranma punched the ground, forcing the ground to shoot upward. This action also sent Usagi up into the air.

"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh-!" Usagi screamed.

"I got you," Ranma said, as he deactivates his lightsaber, and then moves to catch Usagi in his arms. "Deactivate your weapons!"

"Oof!" Usagi said, as she fell into Usagi's arms.

"You okay?" Ranma asked.

Usagi smiles, as she gives Ranma the Vulcan nerve pinch, knocking him out.

"I am now," Usagi grinned.

"Oh, my," Threepio said.

"Ooo-urrk?" Artoo asked.

"Yeah, is Ranma okay?" Luke asked.

"He will," Usagi said, as Tho-Ohki hops on her shoulder.

"You know, that was amazing," Luke said. "So, my father knew stuff like that?"

"That and more," Ranma said, as he gets up. He then turns towards Usagi.

"Cheater."

"Anything Goes?" Usagi said mockingly. "Besides, with your metabolism, being temporarily unconscious is nothing."

"Hey, it's the principal of the thing…"

"So, I can be a Jedi Knight like my father?" Luke asked.

"You have the potential," Ranma said. "Everything else is up to you."

"So, what now?"

"Well, I guess I have to go to Alderaan with the droids, then," Usagi said. "It's been a while since I last been on that world…"

Usagi then turns towards Ranma.

"You want to come?"

"I don't know," Ranma said. "I…I don't want to complicate things, nor do I want to leave Hoshi alone-"

Just then, Ranma's wrist communicator signals an incoming call.

"Hoshi, what's up?" Ranma asked.

"Ranma, I just got a report that a squad of Imperial Storm Troopers are heading towards the Lars residence," Hoshi replied via holographic projection. She then turns towards Usagi.

"Hey, Usagi," Hoshi replied.

"Hey, yourself," Usagi replied.

"Hoshi, can you get a transporter lock on our position?" Ranma said.

"I got the generators ready for use, although Watto complains about the cost."

"That his problem. Beam us to the Lars Residence on my mark."

"Standing by…"

"Wait, how are we going to get back home before the Troopers do?" Luke asked. "And what is…a transporter?"

"One of the few things that we have an edge over the Empire," Usagi said. "Since this will be your first time, the sensation of beaming will feel…a little weird."

"This, I got to see…"

"Hoshi, energize: three humanoids, two droids and a cabbit," Ranma said.

"Energizing," Hoshi replied.

With that, Usagi, Ranma, Luke, the two droids and a cabbit named 'Tho-Ohki' disappeared in a stream of light…"

Meanwhile, the Imperial Storm Troopers have arrived at the Lars Residence, and were terrorizing the inhabitants.

"Where are the droids?" demanded the squad leader.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" Owen said, as he shielded his wife Beru from scrutiny.

"Well, then, you and your woman serves no purpose!" the squad leader said. "Take them down!"

"NO!" Beru screamed.

SNAP! Hzzzz-

SLICE!

Every one of the troopers was sliced in half.

Owen and Beru looks up to see Usagi holding her purple/violet light saber at ready, while they see Ranma holding his yellow lightsaber.

"You guys alright?" Usagi said, as she shuts down her weapon. Thumper, her pet cabbit, was on her shoulders.

"Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru!" Luke said, as he hopped off the roof with his rifle. He was providing cover for Usagi. Luke, Usagi and Ranma had used their Federation transporter technology to get to the Lars farm, just in the knick of time.

"Luke!" Beru says, as she hugs her nephew. "You are okay!"

"Sorry for leaving you without letting you know where I went," Luke says meekly.

Ranma comes running into the area at tremendous speed.

"I took care of the others," Ranma said, as he deactivates and holstered his lightsaber. "Guys, we have a problem."

"Of course we do!" Owen says. "With those troopers dead, there's bound for more to show up!"

"Don't you have family on Corellia?" Usagi asks.

"I do…"

"Then you are leaving," Ranma says.

"But how?" Luke asks.

"Thumper?" Usagi asks.

The cabbit nods, jumps off Usagi's shoulder, and transforms into his 'starship' form.

"TH-OOW!" the cabbit yowled.

"Whoa," Luke said, as he looked up at the living starship.

"I'll take Lars and Beru to Corellia," Ranma said. "Get the plans to Alderaan."

"Ranma, it's silly that you would be so…skittish about going back to your old home," Ranma said.

"Please, okay?"

"Alright," Usagi said with a nod. She then turns towards Lars and Beru.

"I have accounts on Corellia, so you should be set up for a little while."

"You know that I have to fire you for this," Owen said.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted…"

"How are we going to get to Alderaan, then?" Luke asked.

"I have an old friend in Mos Eisley who can help," Usagi said. "Hopefully, he's not in trouble with the Hutts, based upon the rumors I have been hearing…"

"Oh, great…"

"Luke," Beru said, as she and Owen goes over to their nephew.

"Aunt Beru, I-"

"We know, son," Owen said tiredly. "We…we just wanted to protect you from what happened to your father."

"I know, and I thank you," Luke said, as he hugged his aunt and uncle. "I…I hope to see you two again."

"We do, too," Beru replied.

"Yeah, we still have a moisture harvest to deal with, you know," Owen said as he laughed.

With that, a new phase begins in the life one Luke Skywalker…and his best friend Usagi Tsukino as his teacher in the ways of the Jedi.

"Heaven help us all," Ranma said, as he shook his head.

"Just GO!" Usagi yelled with indignation.

Ranma stuck out his tongue, as Tho-Ohki began to rise higher.

"Good luck, boy!" Owen said, as he and Beru waved good-bye.

"Take care of yourself!" Beru said.

"Th-oooow!" Tho-Ohki yowls, as the cabbit, in starship mode, takes off. Destination: Corellia.

"Well, now what?" Luke asked, as he, Usagi and the two droids walked back to Lars home.

"Get your things," Usagi said. "I'll dispose of the bodies of the Imperials."

"And…?"

"We'll be heading for Mos Eisley, where we hitch a ride with my friend."

"The one with the Hutt problem," Luke said. "Great."

"Better having the Hutt problem, than the Imperial problem, I think," Usagi said. "Besides, you're always belly-aching about wanting some excitement in your life, no?"

"Getting hurt or worse is not something I picture as 'excitement'," Luke said drolly…

Once the bodies of the Imperial Storm Troopers were taken care of, Luke drives his Landspeeder to Mos Eisley, one of the principal trading ports on the planet. Unfortunately, as predicted, it was crawling with Imperials.

"Halt!" said the squad leader.

"Okay, just follow my lead, and stay calm," Usagi said, as Luke slows down his speeder.

"Okay," Luke replied.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" Usagi said.

"How long have you had these droids?" the Imperial Storm Trooper asked.

"Mmmm, two or three seasons?" Usagi said, as she turned towards Luke.

"Three, remember?" Luke replied, as he played along with Usagi's attempt to circumvent the Imperial's questioning.

"Oh, oh yeah…"

"Let me see your identification, son," said the trooper.

"You don't need to see his identification," Usagi said, as she waved her fingers in front of trooper.

"I don't need to see his identification," the trooper replied.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for."

"These aren't the droids we're looking for."

"You need to find better work," Usagi said, as she felt a nudge from Luke.

"You know, I need to find better work."

"He can go about his business."

"He can go about his business," the trooper said, as he turns towards his companions.

"Move along."

"Move along," the trooper said, as he waved Luke through.

"Whoa," Luke said, as he continued his drive down the main street of Mos Eisley. "I can't believe how we were able to get pass those troops so easily."

"You'll find that those strong in the Force can develop many talents, including dominion over less disciplined minds," Usagi said. "That's how Emperor Palapatine was able to get his way against the 'Old Republic' and the Jedi."

"Do you think…I can ever become strong enough to resist that kind of power?" Luke asked.

"That'll be up to you, and how far you are willing to go. I'll tell you this much: it ain't going to be easy. Over years, I was able to groom you so that you could grasp the Force quickly."

"How?"

"You know all those board games you and I played over the years?"

"Yeah…"

"I was really testing you Force-sensitivity."

"And…?"

"You do have the potential. Now, it's time to begin your training in earnest…"

"Oh. So, when are you going to get us a ride?"

"I'm going to give you some credits to have your Landspeeder stored, so that Hoshi can have someone pick it up," Usagi said, as she brings up her wrist communicator. "While you are doing that, I'll set up our contact."

"Good."

"Just remember to stay out of trouble, okay?"

"I can take care of myself, you know…"

Upon storing the landspeeder, Usagi, Luke and the droids arrive at Chalmuna's Cantina, where music and merriment was occurring.

"Whoa," Luke said, as he, Usagi and the droids stepped inside the place.

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy," Usagi said. "We must be cautious…"

"USAGI!" yelled some of the patrons yelled.

"Huh," Luke said, as he turns towards Usagi.

"Heh," Usagi said, as she tried to laugh off her embarrassment…

"Hey, Usagi," said the bartender, as he face the approaching Jedi. "The usual?"

"Naw, I got business with you-know-who," Usagi said.

"Ah," the bartender said, as he points to a large, hairy creature that was standing at the bar. "Also: are those your droids?"

"Yes…"

"You know the rules."

"Ah, come on! Look, I'm only transporting them, which is why I need to see Han. I'll pay you a nice tip."

"Humph," the bartender said. "Okay."

"Thanks," Usagi said, as she puts down some money onto the counter. "And I'll have some beer."

"Sure," the bartender said, as he gives Usagi a pint.

"Thanks again," Usagi said, as she turns towards Luke.

"Stay here, until I get back."

"Alright," Luke said with a shrug.

And, with that, Usagi went around the bar to talk to what appeared to be a "wookie", a friendly one considering the fact that Usagi and the creature hugged.

As Luke sat leaned over to the bar to order a drink for himself, he felt himself being pushed.

"Huh?" Luke said, as he turned to face the culprit.

"Negola dewaghi wooldugger?" said the creature, who appeared to look like a cross between a walrus and a bug.

"Sorry," Luke said, as he turns away, only to be pushed again. "Huh?"

A scarred humanoid steps up.

"He doesn't like you," said the human.

"I don't even know him," Luke said. "I'm just minding my own business, okay?"

"Well, I don't like you either!" the human said.

"Fine, I'll be more careful," Luke said, as he was suddenly grabbed by the human.

"You'll be dead-!"

"Fellas, please," Usagi said, as she steps forward. "He's with me."

"Then, you'll get it just as good!" said the man, as he and his friend began to pull out their blasters.

"No blasters!" the bartender said.

Too late.

Luke, remember all of his self-defense lessons he learned from Usagi, which he received after he and Biggs got bullied from the local Tusken Raiders, palmed the human, sending him across the room. Meanwhile, Usagi deftly activates her lightsaber, and slices the alien's gun in half. This causes the room to go still.

"I could have easily removed a limb," Usagi said, as she points the tip of her lightsaber towards the offending creature. "But I'm a friend of the bartender. Go away."

The alien nods his head, and flees.

"Sorry about that," Usagis said, as she deactivates her lightsaber.

"Look, I don't want the Imperials to know I let you in my bar," the bartender said.

"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes. Here."

Usagi places a bag on credits onto the bar. She then turns to face everyone.

"Drinks on ME!" Usagi said with a grin.

"YAY!"

With that, the music and merriment continues.

"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble?" Usagi asked, as she holstered her belt.

"I wasn't my fault!" Luke said.

"Well…okay," Usagi replied. "By the way, nice moves you have."

"After all the grief you put through, I better…"

"Humph. Come on, let's go."

With that, Usagi goes on to meet her contact: Captain Han Solo of Corellia, and commander of the infamous freighter, the Millennium Falcon…

Unfortunately, Luke was not impressed, when he and the others arrived at Docking Bay 94 later on...

"THIS is our ship?" Luke said. "What a piece of junk!"

"She's old, but she's fast, kid," said Han, as he shows off his vessel. "She'll make point five beyond the speed of light. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've added some special modifications myself."

"You mean, Ami added some special modifications," Usagi replied drolly. "I know, because I get copies of the invoices from Watto's shop."

"Hey, who do you think taught her, huh?" Han said. "Anyway, we better get out of here-"

"Big brother," Ami said on the loudspeaker form the cockpit. "I'm picking up Imperial traffic on the high band, and a squad of Imperials is on their way here."

"Okay, have Chewie charge up the engines, and prepare for a jump to lightspeed on my mark," Han said, as he spoke on his wrist communicator. He then turns towards his passengers.

"Shall we?"

"Here we go again," Luke said, as he boards the ship. "Maybe being a moisture farmer isn't such a bad occupation after all…

With moments to spare, the Millennium Falcon managed to take to the skies in the nick of time.

During the flight to Alderaan, Usagi decided to begin her instruction on the Jedi teachings.

"Can I…can I watch?" Ami asks.

"Sure," Usagi says. "Maybe you can learn a thing or two."

Usagi then turns towards her new apprentice.

"This is a teaching tool designed to test your intuition skills," Usagi said, as she revealed a metal sphere. "Incidentally, even a small child can connect with the Force."

"Easy enough," replied Luke.

"Oh, and one more thing…"

Usagi tossed a helmet to Luke.

"Put this on, with the blast shield up."

"But Usagi-"

"When we are in training, please address me in a proper manner."

"Yes, Mistress Usagi."

"She's a 'mistress' alright..." Han chuckled, as he recalled how she and that red-headed girl behaved on that one particular planet, way back when…

"Han, don't you have a ship to pilot, or something?" Usagi asked, as she threw eye daggers at Han.

"Naw, everything checks fine."

"Fine, so be quiet. School is in session."

"Are you teaching the kid this nonsense?"

"Hey, the teachings of the Jedi aren't 'nonsense'!" yelled Luke.

"Easy, Padawan," said Usagi. "People have the right to speak their mind."

"Thank you," Han replied.

"And some people ought to learn not to stick one's foot into their big mouths, jerk!"

Han merely rolls his eyes in response, before checking his ship's instrument panel.

"Now, Luke, let's begin our exercise. Be in control of your surroundings. Do not control your surroundings."

The metal sphere danced around Luke, as he tried to hit it.

Zap!

"Hahahahahaha-!"

"Han!"

"I'm sorry. Hehehe..."

"Big brother, stop being mean!"

"It's hard!" cried Luke, as he rubbed his sore spot.

"Of course it is, but you can do it. Trust me. Now, let's do this again. Do not think about your actions. Flow with the movement of the sphere…"

Luke immediately loosened up. Now, he can sense the sphere's movements. There-!

PING!

Luke was able to score a direct hit. Happy, Luke took off his helmet, while the sphere went back to Usagi's hands.

"See? That wasn't so difficult."

"But it was. I mean, I understand now, but…"

"Trust me when I say training to be a Jedi is a lot easier than trying to be a Jedi. I know."

"But you haven't said anything about your training," said Luke.

"Oh, I didn't, did I? No, the point is that you have to have the desire to take chances, when it comes to being a Jedi. I certainly took a lot of chances in my life," Usagi said, as she thumbed Han. Of course, she wanted to give another finger sign to the smuggler, but she had a Jedi image to maintain. And Ami was around. "And training shouldn't be seen any differently. In other words, you have to let go of your emotions."

"In other words, be impulsive."

"No, you have to trust your instincts in doing the right thing."

"Well, as much as this philosophical debate is interesting," Han said, "But we're coming up on Alderaan. And about time, too…"

"We'll continue this later," Usagi said. "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you."

With everyone secured into the cockpit, the Millennium Falcon left hyperspace.

"Arrgh!" screamed Usagi painfully.

"Usagi, are you all right?" asked Luke.

"I'm…okay," Usagi said. "But something's wrong. Very wrong."

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing," commented Han.

"Han, I'm never wrong about these things."

Suddenly, the Millennium Falcon was rocked by a series of asteroids.

"Han, are you SURE we're heading for Alderaan?"

"Sure I'm sure. These are the coordinates."

"RRRAAAWWWRRRL!"

Ami checked the sensors.

"I think there's something wrong, Han," Ami said.

"Hey, there's a moon up ahead!" said Luke.

Usagi looked, and frowned.

"Wait a minute. THAT'S no moon!"

The object up ahead loomed larger, as the 'Falcon came closer to it. From her vantage point, Usagi could tell that it was, in fact, a huge battle station.

"Han we better get out of here," said Usagi urgently.

"On it!"

The 'Falcon began to buck and twist, as Han tried to steer the ship into a new direction. Usagi was about to assist, when she received a premonition.

"Usagi?" asked Luke.

"Han, cut the engines," Usagi said.

"What? Are you out of your mind?" exclaimed Han.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"…"

"No, really."

"Grrr…ALRIGHT. But if this is another crazy scheme of yours…"

"Now, Han. Have I let you down?"

"…"

"…Lately?"

"Fine. Kid, do exactly what I say. Chewie?"

"RRROWRRLL!"

Han turns to Ami.

"Just stay in the hidden cargo bay."

"But big brother-"

"Please! I don't want you to get hurt."

Ami nods.

The Death Star's tractor beam pulled the Millennium Falcon into one of its hanger bays. Immediately, once it landed, the ship was surrounded by Imperial

Storm Troopers. Both Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin went down to do a casual inspection of the craft before order a thorough detail on the craft. Only Vader was apprehensive about leaving it behind so soon.

"I sense…a disturbance in The Force," said Vader.

"I'm sure it is a residual from Alderaan's destruction," Tarkin replies. "Come, we still have a search to conduct."

As soon as they left, a search of the 'Falcon began.

"Hey, I think I need a hand," yelled a voice from inside.

The two remaining storm troopers rushed inside from their positions…

BAM!

A few minutes later, two storm troopers were leading a handcuffed Wookie and two females away from the ship, followed by two droids. After passing through a checkpoint, the group went to a control room, and closed the door behind them.

"Whew, that was close!" said Luke, as he took off his helmet.

"Yeah, no thanks to YOU," said Han to Usagi, as he took off his helmet.

"Well, you smell like canned meat!" Usagi said, as she stuck her tongue at the smuggler.

"Whatever."

"RRROWRRL!"

"I must say that their bickering is most fascinating," Threepio said.

"Beep-beep Peeo-Beep!" replied Artoo.

"Alright. We're here. Now what?" Han asked.

"We are here to rescue Princess Leia of Alderaan," Usagi says, still feeling the emotional loss at the destruction of Alderaan.

"According this databank, she is being held in a holding cell," Ami said, as she hacked into the Death Star's computer systems.

"How do we get to there?" asked Luke.

"We got this far pretending to be prisoners and all," Usagi said. "Let's do it again."

Luke just stared at Usagi in stunned silence.

"…"

"Hey, when I'm good, I'm REALLY good," Usagi replied.

"And when you're bad, you suck," Han says.

"Anyway," Usagi begins again with a glare. "We got the plan, so let's execute it."

"How?" Ami asked.

"I want you, Luke and Han to find and retrieve the princess with Artoo's help, while C3-P0 monitor the communication lines."

"Mistress Usagi, but I do not have such a capability," Threepio said.

"You do now, thanks to Ranma from earlier," Usagi said. "Anyway, I have to shut down the tractor beam generator, so I better get going."

"But how are we supposed to free the princess?" Luke whined.

"Improvise," Usagi replied, as she left the control room.

Usagi was successful in disabling the tractor beam generator, which was easy enough to do.

At the same time, Luke and the gang were successful in getting to the holding cell, where Princess Leia was being held.

"Princess Leia?" Luke said, as he went into Leia's cell…

BAM!

Leia was immediately on top of him, as she held Luke against the bulkhead.

"You seem too short to be a trooper," Leia says, as she held her fist at ready, as it began to glow. She was a student of the Anything Goes Martial Arts style, and survived Darth Vader's interrogation techniques. "Not that it matters…"

"Leia, wait!" Luke said in protest. "We're just here to rescue you..

"Did Lady Usagi send you?"

"Actually, we got your message from your astromech droid."

"Oh."

Just then, Han steps forth.

"Guys, we got trouble!"

Squads of storm troopers began filing into the corridor.

"Let's get out of here!"

And with that, the gang went down a landing chute…and into the garbage disposal.

"Ewww!" Ami said, as she waded through garbage. She then smacks Han up the back of his head.

"Smooth move!" Leia groused.

"I had no choice, princess!"

"Guys," Luke said, as he moved around quickly. "I think there's something down here!"

"RRRRROOOWLRRL!" Chewie replied.

Leia turns to a long piece of jagged metal.

"I'll be back," Leia says, as she places the long piece of metal between her teeth…and dives right in.

"Princess!" Ami yelled.

There seemed to be a violent struggle within the muck. Finally, Leia pops back up.

"All done," Leia says.

"Whoa," Luke said.

"Now what?" Han says.

Suddenly, the walls began to close in.

"Oh, just great! I just HAD to ask!"

"Everyone, stand back," Leia said, as she closed her eyes. She then opens them back up.

"Hummmmmm…"

Luke felt a shiver up and down his spine, as Han heard a grinding noise, even as the trash compactor began to slow down in its attempt to crush the people within.

"Whoa," Luke said.

"I haven't done this before," Leia said in a trembled voice. "And I don't know how long I can keep the walls from folding in on us…"

"Sis, can you-?" Han said, as he turns towards his adopted ward.

"There's no plug for me to use to hack into," Ami laments.

"Artoo!" Luke called on his wrist communicator. "Somebody…get us out here-!"

As if on cue the grinding ceases; this resulted in the walls moving away from the Luke and company.

"Alright!" Han said.

"Oh," Leia said, as she relaxed. She held her head.

"That was a bit much," Leia replied.

"You learned that from studying the Force?" Ami asked.

"Aye," Leia replied. "Lady Ranko was my teacher, although I stopped learning when I decided to become a senator for Alderaan…"

"Hopefully, I can learn the ways of the Force as well," Leia said.

"I wish I could," Ami said.

"I don't see why not," Han replied.

"But, what about the family business?"

"Ami, no matter what, you will always be a part of the family business," Han said with a smile.

"Oh, Han…"

A short while later…

As Usagi made her way back to the Millennium Falcon in the hanger bay, she couldn't help but chuckle at the predicament her friends were in.

She knew that they would be all right, since she knew that R2-D2 was monitoring the situation. And she was monitoring the situation through the "bug" he planted on Han.

Then, she felt a familiar presence.

It was a VERY familiar presence.

"So…we meet again, old friend," said a familiar voice

Usagi lifted her head to see the Dark Lord himself. He wore his imposing, full suited, black armor, thanks to the wounds Usagi had inflicted on him years ago.

"Lord Vader…I presume?" Usagi said, as she steeled her resolve.

"Of course, happy times are over for you."

With that, Darth Vader activates his lightsaber, already in hand.

SNAP! Hzzzz…

**Tbc.**


	3. Chapter 3

**SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force! – By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: this is a mult-genre story.**

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**Part 3**

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"Humph," Usagi said, as she removes one of her lightsabers from her belt. "I don't think so, you traitorous bastard."

SNAP! Hzzzz…

"You will find that I am more than capable of defending myself," Usagi said, as she raised her lightsaber.

"I will say that I am glad that you are…alive, after our last encounter," Vader said, as he approached his old friend. "It's been…what? Twenty years?"

"For this encounter? Maybe, although I did help to run interference against your so-called emperor here and there," Usagi said.

"Enough," Vader said, as he raised his lightsaber. "This ends NOW."

"So be it, Anakin."

"Do not call me THAT name. He died a long time ago."

"Yeah, because YOU betrayed everything HE stood for."

With that, Usagi and Darth Vader engaged in combat.

Meanwhile, Luke and company were able to make it to the hanger bay, but remained hidden behind cargo in the hangar bay. There were security forces everywhere, although their main attention was on the fight between Usagi and Darth Vader, although Luke and company didn't know that Usagi was already in the general area.

"I don't see Usagi around here," Luke said, as he looked around the Millennium Falcon.

"That's because she over there," Han said, as he points towards an enclosed room.

Everyone could see that Usagi was dueling Darth Vader.

"Who is Lord Vader dueling?" Leia asked.

"That's Usagi," Luke said.

"That's the 'Onitoyota'?" Leia exclaimed. "She looks like she'd be around my age…"

"Keep it down, Princess!" Han yelled. "We don't want to attract the wrong attention!"

"It's worse than that, Big Brother!" Ami said. "There is a force-field around the Millennium Falcon.

"We know that Usagi had shut down the tractor beam," Luke said, as he kept his eye on his friend's fight with the man in black. For some reason, there was something…familiar, about the man Usagi was fighting…

"So?" Han said.

"So we need to shut down the secondary power generators to get us access to YOUR ship," Luke replied. He then turns towards Ami.

"Ami, do you know where the power couplers in this room are?"

"Um, checking," Ami replied, as she tapped into her computer. "There are three power junction points that need to be deactivated: one by the sentry post, one by the docking ring, and another by docking bay force-field."

"What are the risks?" Han asked.

"We can use Artoo and Threepio it take care of the first two power couplings, but the third is being guarded by the sentries."

"I'll get them started on their task," Luke said, as he brought his communicator to his face…

"Leave the guards to me," Leia said, as she scanned the guards with her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't come all this way to risk my reward!" Han said.

"If you think I'm just a 'reward', after all this, after the destruction of my home planet, then I feel sorry for you," Leia said. "But…follow me."

"But-"

"Hey, you don't want your 'reward' to be at risk, right? You're just going to have to protect it yourself."

And, with that, Leia snuck around the stack of cargo, with Han close behind.

Meanwhile, the battle between Darth Vader and Usagi continued, as the pair of Force users up the ante.

"Huh!" Usagi said, as she tried to perform a Force palm strike against Vader.

"Arrgh!" Vader replied, as he countered the attack by using the Force to deflect the intended blow around him. He then pointed a finger at Usagi, emitting a powerful Force bolt.

"Yowtch!" Usagi yelped, as she used her lightsaber to block the attack. Just before she countered the attack, Vader utilized a Force palm strike.

"Oof!" Usagi said, as she fell back.

"As you can see, my injuries have done nothing to weaken my abilities in the Force," Vader replied.

"How…how could you do that?" Usagi said, as she slowly rose to her feet. "You lost your limbs!"

"You are correct, Jedi," Vader said. "Considering the fact that you Jedi have been persistent against the will of the emperor, I am glad that I went through the painful process of restoring my body…although not in the manner that you would think."

Vader removed his face mask to reveal his youthful visage.

"No," Usagi said, as she backed up. "But…how-?"

"I transferred myself into this new body, after my old one suffered tremendous damage from the 'Starkiller Affair'," Vader spat.

"Ah, yes, I heard about 'Starkiller' from Ranma," Usagi said, as she blocked a blow from Vader.

"And this…visage serves the emperor quite well," Vader said, as he puts the visage back onto his face, locking it in place. "So, you see, my old friend, I want to make sure that I am at my…peak efficiency."

Pause.

"And you will find that I am truly the 'master' that you refused to acknowledge me as!"

Usagi knew that Vader was serious about getting his revenge; she already felt the presence of her companions, when they had arrived at the flight deck. In fact, she was actively shielding their presence from Vader's senses, so as to not sense their presence. She didn't have to worry about Leia revealing her Force powers to Vader, since Ranma made it a point to train her to hide her abilities; it was Luke she was more worried about. And then there was Ami Solo. She certainly had the potential to regain her Jedi skills, but she needed to be awakened to the fact that she was not Han Solo's "ward", but was, in fact, the "Senshi of Mercury". And, unfortunately, only Usagi could awaken her true nature, and she didn't want to risk Ami not knowing her true self, should she be killed by Vader.

'No choice,' Usagi said, as she begins to compartmentalize her thoughts…

Meanwhile, Ami was hiding in the cargo bay trying to coordinate everyone while being watched over by Chewbacca, when she received Usagi's thoughts…

"{Ami…}"

"Huh?" Ami said, as she looked up. She began to space out.

"{Ami, can you hear me}?"  
'Is that you…Usagi?' Ami thought.

"{Yes, Ami, it's me}," Usagi said telepathically. "{What I am about to tell you…to SHOW might be a bit much to handle. But if you do what I say, our chances of escape will be greater. Do you understand}?"

Ami nods in reply.

"{Do you still have your henshin wand}?"

'Yes, I still have it,' Ami replied, as she takes out the weird rod from her pocket. For as long as she can remember, it has served as something special to her. She was told by Han that when he found her as a baby, it had been tucked in her basket. Since then, Han and Chewie, and, to a smaller extent, Han's best friend Lando Calrissian, have been keeping an eye on her as she grew up. In fact, some would say that had Ami made her "Big Brother" much more respectable than he would have been, if only a little bit…

'Now, what do I do?' Ami thought, as she felt the surface. The artifact seemed to pulse with power.

"{Now, when I give you the word, say the first thing that comes to mind. Okay}?"

'I…I understand…'

Ami gets out of her hiding place, and holds up her wand.

"Mercury Planet: POWER!"

FWOOSH!

Old memories began to flood Ami's mind.

She remembered her first life, as the Princess of Mercury during the days of the Silver Millennium.

She remembered her days as a Japanese student, as well as meeting the Moon Princess as her old friend and protector.

She remembered agreeing to find the time-lost Moon Princess, to make sure that she and her companions make back to their proper time and place.

She remembered her days as a Jedi Knight, who fought alongside her Moon Princess.

She remembered dying at the hands of a friend who turned against the Jedi, a friend who foolishly thought he was did so in order to save the life of the woman he loved.

She remembered who she was.

She was Sailor Mercury, the Senshi of Ice…and she was BACK.

"RRoowrrl?" Chewbacca asked.

"It is okay, Chewie," Sailor Mercury said, as she stood tall. "We ALL we'll be okay."

Han Solo notices the flash of light. Was Ami okay?

"Ami, Chewie," Han said, as he kept one eye on Leia, as she quickly disarms the sentries. "You guys okay?"

"RRooowrrrl!" Chewie replied.

"What?" Han exclaimed. "Ami turned into…what?"

"I'll explain later, Han," Ami said, as she steps out into the open. "Just deactivate the final power coupling."

"Will do," Han said, as he goes over to the main control panel. He presses a button marked "Power Coupling".

"Alright, our end is done."

"Artoo and Threepio are done," Luke said, as he covered his droids' return to the group.

"Hang on, guys!" Sailor Mercury said, as she began to spin around. "Mercury Bubble: Blast!"

Suddenly, the entire flight deck was covered in a fog bank.

"Hurry!" said Sailor Mercury, as she and Chewie ran for the Millennium Falcon. She then spoke on her communicator.

"Han? Chewie and I made it back to the ship."

"Prep the ship for launch!" Han said, as he and Leia ran back to the ship. "We're right behind you."

"RRoowrl!" Chewie replied.

"Go on ahead," Sailor Mercury said. "I'll be right behind you."

"RRRRRoow!" Chewie replied with a nod, as he boarded the Millennium Falcon, while Sailor Mercury waited for the others to arrive...

"What the heck is going on?" Luke asked, as he met up with Sailor Mercury, as she stood on the gangplank, as Artoo and Threepio went past her.

"I'll explain later, but we need to get Usagi

Leia just rolled her eyes.

Meanwhile, the fight between Usagi and Vader continued.

"You seem a bit distracted, old friend," taunted Vader, as he swung a deadly arc of light and energy.

"I'm okay, thanks," Usagi replied, as she deflected the blow. "But I have to end our chat, now…"

With that, Usagi palmed the assembled spectators, and pushed everyone and the sudden fog bank away, clearing a path between her and the Millennium Falcon.

"What-?" Vader wondered.

"I hate to end a fight at the last minute, but I have to go," Usagi smirked, as she turns to leave.

"This fight is not over!" Vader said, as he used the "Saber Throw Technique" to create a boomerang-like effect with his lightsaber, with his target being Usagi.

"Yow!" Usagi yelped, as she narrowly avoids the strike, before using "Force speed" to quickly run to her ship. "Be seeing you-!"

"We'll see," Vader said, as he caught his lightsaber upon its return, while Usagi and her friends boarded the freighter to leave the docking port of the _Death Star_.

"I will have to train, then," Vader says, as he turns to leave. He knew that even if Grand Moff Tarkin sent out a flight squad to stop the smuggler's freighter, his old friend Usagi would make sure that the ship would succeed in its escape.

"Vader," said Tarkin over a secured link in Darth Vader's helmet.

"Speak of the devil," Vader replied.

"Pardon?"

"Go ahead."

"I will be sending a squad to attack the Millennium Falcon, but not to retrieve it."

"Pardon?" Vader replied in surprise. "So, the ship is to be destroyed?"

"No. As you have quite bluntly put it, the Jedi Master that you have just fought is an experienced commander from the Clone Wars. Trying to destroy the ship would be a futile exercise, which is why I made sure that our technicians have placed a tracking transmitter on that ship. Should that smuggler's ship survive the sortie, then we can track it to the rebel base."

"You thought of every contingency, then."

"Of course, I have. The Emperor expects his Moffs to be his eyes and ears throughout the Galactic Empire."

"You do know that should the Rebel Alliance get those plans, their technicians might discover a weakness in the space station," Vader replied.

"Oh, come on, now," Tarkin scoff. "The _Death Star_ is the greatest weapon that is in the Empire's arsenal. Surely, the rebels cannot possibly discover a weakness that would give us concern."

"Never dismiss those who are strong in the Force," Vader said. "Your people may think that being strong in the Force is nothing more than a religion, but you have seen me demonstrate its power."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Meanwhile, aboard the Millennium Falcon, Luke greets Usagi.

"You're okay!" Luke said happily.

"Of course I am, Luke," Usagi said with a broad smile. "Why would I?"

"It's just…well…"

"I know," Usagi said, as she hoisted her lightsaber unto her belt. "Look, I dealt with Darth Vader before, when he was at his peak. I can take him."

"Why didn't you?" Leia asked. "We could have ended that menace already."

"Taking him and finishing him off are two different things, Leia," Usagi said evenly. "Personally, as much as I wished to try, there are more important matters to consider."

"Like what?" Luke asked.

"Like trying to get the plans of this base to the Rebel Alliance, remember?"

"Of course," Leia replied. "Silly me. It's just that after Alderaan…"

"Justice will be dealt, not vengeance," Usagi said. "I thought your teacher would have taught you better."

"Mistress Ranko Tendo taught me many things, Misstress Usagi," Leia said. "But she wasn't here to stop the Empire from destroying my homeworld."

Pause.

"Nor was she here to prevent my father's demise."

With that, Leia walks away.

"Leia!" Luke said.

"No, don't," Usagi said tiredly. "She…she needs time to deal with this."

"Then what can I do?"

"Just be her friend, and listen," Usagi said with a smile.

"Okay," Luke said, as he considers his old friend and new teacher's advice. "I'll do that."

And, with that, Luke goes over to Leia, who was sitting down in the lounge area with her head down in her hands while being comforted by the droids she sent to find Usagi.

"Usagi, you're okay?" Sailor Mercury said, as she closes the hatch while raising the gangplank.

"I am, Sailor Mercury," Usagi said, as she breathes a sigh of relief.

Pause.

"So, now what do we do, Ami?"

Before Sailor Mercury could speak…

"Ami, I need you up front," Han said over the ship's com system.

"I guess we'll talk later," Sailor Mercury said with a faint smile, as she reverted back to her normal form. "I guess we have much to catch up on."

With that, Ami said, as she leaves the loading area for the cockpit.

"Ay-yi-yi," Usagi said, as she sighed. "I'm getting too old for this…"

Meanwhile, a Jurain warship enters the Alderaan system.

"Tho-Ohki, status report," Ranma said, as he steered Tho-Ohki's warship form. He was just glad that he had gotten over his fear over cats, although Usagi's cabbit was only half-cat.

"Th-oow!" Tho-Ohki replied, as he created a virtual screen of the entire Alderaan Star System. Sure enough, the Death Star was present, but Alderaan wasn't. When he arrived at Corellia, Hoshi, hailing from Tattooine, relayed a message that the Death Star was on a course to Alderaan. After dropping off Owen and Beru Lars, Ranma and Tho-Ohki quickly left for Alderaan, hoping that he could arrive before anything was done to the planet. At the very least, he hoped that Grand Moff Tarkin would simply take over the planet as a means of demonstrating the will of the emperor. He did not know Tarkin would destroy the planet instead.

"Damn it!" Ranma yelled. His inner rage was on the verge of overwhelming his senses, when Tho-Ohki pointed something out.

"Th-oow!" Tho-Ohki said, as his sensor grid picked up some activity involving the Millennium Falcon and a squadron of Tie Fighters.

"That's Solo's ship," Ranma said.

"Tho-owwww!"

"Figured as much," Ranma said, as he nods his head. Figured that Tho-Ohki would sense his mistress Usagi…

"Let's give them a hand," Ranma said, as he began his attack…

Meanwhile, Usagi and Luke were handling the gun turrets of the Millennium Falcon, while Han Ami, Chewbacca, Leia and Usagi managed things from the front.

"We got incoming!" Han yelled. "You remember how to shoot, Bunny?"

"I think I got a trick or two," Usagi said, as she removes her robes, and then puts on her gloves. She had gone to the upper gun turrets, so that she could help Han fend off tie-fighters, as the Millennium Falcon made its escape. She then places a secured headset on her head.

"Luke?" Usagi said. "You hear me?"

"I hear you," Luke said, as he adjusts his own headset while sitting at the other gun turrets. They were mounted at the bottom of the ship. "I bet that I can get a better shot than you."

"You better, have the beating you took from missing all those shots, back on Tattoine," Usagi laughed.

"Ha, ha," Luke said. "Very funny…"

With that, the push to escape the Imperials begins anew…

* * *

From the personal diary of Usagi Tsukino:

_"We managed to leap into hyperspace, after a run-in of TIE-Fighters, and after Ranma's timely arrival. And after we dealt with THEM, we went to the main base of the Rebellion on Yavin 4. Upon reaching that moon, we discovered a tracking device on board the Millennium Falcon, thus giving the location of the base away. Mon Mothma welcomed the notion that Ranma and I are out in the open finally. As a result, our commissions were officially reactivated, and thus led the charge against the approaching Imperial forces."_

* * *

With the approaching Death Star to Yavin 4, the Rebels prepare for a final assault, thanks to the stolen Death Star Blue prints.

"Look at this beauty," Ranma said, as he looked up at his assigned vehicle: the T-65 X-Wing starfighter. Both he, Usagi and a few experienced fighter pilots will be leading the assault on the Death Star, as a result of discovering the tracker.

Ranma then turns towards Usagi, who was reading up on the bios of her fellow pilots in her squad. She would be leading "Green Squad", the least experienced pilots, who would be running inference against any TIE-fighter wing that breaks the line between the approaching Death Star and Yavin-4. If necessary, provide cover for the Rebel Alliance's cadre. In fact, Tho-Ohki would stay with Leia, as a precaution.

"I'm surprise that you managed to convince Jan to let Luke fly in Red Squadron."

Ranma was referring to General Jan Dodonna, an old friend that Ranma and Usagi had served with during the Clone Wars...

"Only if I lead Green Squadron, Ranma," Usagi replied. "And only after I convinced Jan that Luke was pilot rated."

"You should have concentrated on his studies in the Force, Usagi."

"Ranma, Luke is like his father: a pilot first and foremost. In fact, during breaks from the farm, I would take Watto's in Mos Eisley. Usually, I tell Owen that Luke coming with me was to protect me from Tusken Raiders, as well as pick up supplies for a discount. But those trips was to get him rated as a pilot, so that he would have an easier time to get into the Imperial Academy, or get a head start as a freighter pilot. In fact, I would have eventually introduce Luke to Han or Lando, had Leia not have detoured her ship to Tattooine."

"Humph."

"What?"

"Why do you hang out with questionable people?"

"They're both are friends, okay? And besides, Ami is with them."

"That decision of giving her to him...well, it's a wonder that she didn't end up in a worse situation like them."

"They're good people, Ranma. In fact, I venture to say that her presence did them a whole lot of good."

"Then why is Han leaving now?"

"Because this isn't his fight; it's ours. And besides, should something happen to us, at least there is another Jedi out there that could take on the Emperor and Vader."

"Well, I still have issues with Palpatine," Ranma said, as he punched the chassis of his assigned starfighter. "And one day, he's going to get it..."

Later, as the Rebel Alliance attack squadron prepare for launch...

"You sure you don't want to stay and fight with us?" Luke asked.

"Hey, I've done my part kid," Han says. "Besides, I've got bills to pay."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, thanks anyway."

"Hey, kid?"

"Yeah?"

"May the Force be with you."

"Thanks, Han."

After Han takes off…

"Please, Big Brother!" Ami says. "You got to help them! It's what Usagi would have wanted!"

Han looks into Ami's eyes.

"Chewie, turn around."

"RRRRRROWL!"

Meanwhile…

"This is 'Gold Leader'," Ranma says, as he and his attack squadron led the way. "Ready to engage."

"This is 'Green Leader'," Usagi says, as she and her attack squadron got underway. "We're ready to run interference."

Ranma and Usagi were more than qualified to lead their respective squadrons, based upon their flight records. At any rate, Gold Squadron would soften up the defenses of the Death Star, while Green Squadron would prevent reinforcements. That leaves Red Squadron the task delivering the payload into the exhaust port of the _Death Star_.

"This is Red Leader'," Garven Dreis says. Luke was assigned to Red Squadron, since there was space available. "We're ready."

"Alright, people," said Ranma. "Let's take this thing out…"

Once the Rebels are on their way, the forces of light are met with heavy Imperial resistance. Still, the Rebels were making great strides in getting to the Death Star's exhaust port. Unfortunately, it was down to Luke to make the shot, and his mind wasn't clear.

"I don't know if I can do this," Luke said to himself, as focused on his targeting computer.

"{Luke}," said a familiar voice in his mind.

"What-?"

"{Luke, trust your instincts}!"

Was Luke's master dead…?

"I'm not dead, you jerk!" said a familiar voice on the communications signal. "Porkins' mass created a gravitational field that yanked me out of the crossfire in the nick of time."

"Now that's just mean."

"Whatever. Just keep your eye on target! Ranma is on his way to help you…"

Just then, Darth Vader's fighter squad comes rolling up from behind.

"Now you are mine!" says the Dark Lord.

Then, he was being attacked by blaster fire from the Millennium Falcon and a Rebel fighter…

"Ya-hoo!" yelled Han, as he activated his blasters.

"Surprise, aren't you, Vader?" says Ranma, as he piloted his "X-Wing" besides the 'Falcon. "Usagi told me what you've been up to, and I'm very cross with you."

Ranma discharged his own weapons, hitting Vader's craft.

"ARRRGH!" said Vader, as his craft spun out of control, and into space.

"Han? Ranma?" Luke was pleasantly surprised to see his new friends.

"You're all clear, kid!" Han yelled.

"Got it," Luke said, as he discharged his torpedo into the exhaust port.

A moment later, the Death Star explodes, killing all but one.

"This isn't over," Darth Vader said, as he steered his fighter back to the nearest Imperial stronghold. No doubt, Emperor Palapatine will Not be pleased with these developments.

Later, back on Yavin 4…

With the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel forces received a needed relief in their pursuit for justice.

Usagi stayed far from the celebration that Luke and Han were experiencing. A smiled was plastered on face. She could sense a palatable sea change in the fortunes of the Rebel Alliance.

"Lady Usagi?"

Usagi turns to see Ami standing there. There was a palatable tension between Usagi and the girls.

"Yes, Ami?"

"Why did you not tell me the truth about you?"

"I did so because it was my fault that you were hurt. I was so focused in completing my mission that day, twenty years ago, that I lost sight of what's important."

Ami hugged Usagi.

"It is okay, Usagi," Ami says. "I understand, please, Princess, don't keep any secrets from us."

"I promise, on my honor, I'll do just THAT."

As a result of the Rebel's victory, a celebration went under way. Ranma and Usagi, now dressed in their Jedi Robes again, received medals for their actions, along with the others. With the two KNOWN Jedi to be in existence was a dubious honor. Unfortunately, Palpatine and Darth Vader know of their active involvement in the Rebellion as well. Regardless, pair played a role in restoring a new hope in a galaxy torn by conflict, even though the battle for freedom has only just begun…

Tbc.


	4. Chapter 4

**SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force! – By DS Wynne**

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**Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: this is a mult-genre story.**

**Author's Note: Just to be clear, by the time Usagi and Ranma returned to their own time and space, there are only three Jedi Knights in existence-**

**Grandmaster Usagi ben Kenobi (Jedi Sentinel)**

**Weapon Master Ranma ben Yoda (Jedi Guardian)**

**Master Ami be Mace (Jedi Consular)**

**Now, according to "Wookiepedia" (the wikia for "Star Wars"), ranks within the Jedi Order deals more with function than with actual skill. So, Usagi holds the title of "grandmaster" simply by virtue of maintaining the administration aspect of the Jedi. Ranma is the "weapon master" due to his focus on training and sparring in the martial arts; the irony is that Ranma doesn't like to use weapons, even though he has a high weapons proficiency rating. Meanwhile, Ami handles the support aspect of the Jedi Order. Nevertheless, all three have knowledge of seven Lightsaber Forms (combat arts), but each Jedi have their own unique styles that is unique to them. And this doesn't include the many techniques that have developed over the years by both Jedi and Sith warriors, which can be accessed by accessing the holicrons. Also, by the time of the reign of Empire, the Jedi Knights began to utilize "honorific" names, based upon who they were taught them. Mainly, this was done to create an alias of sorts, as well as honor those Jedi that had been lost over the years (with a few exceptions to the rule). Ergo, Usagi Tsukino was the "padawan" (or apprentice) of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, so Usagi's new name is "Usagi ben Kenobi" ("ben" being a Tuskin word for "of"). Anyway, C&C are welcomed.**

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**Part 4**

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From the holicron of Jedi Knight Usagi ben Kenobi:

_With the Rebellion at full swing, Ranma and I went about our business in trying to do what we can to help along. We helped to move the main Rebel base to the ice planet Hoth, from Yavin IV, where we could avoid Imperial scrutiny. Of course, thanks to Darth Vader's obsessive tendencies, he combed the entire galaxy in an effort to track the Rebellion down. Meanwhile, we continued to train Luke and Leia in the ways of the Force, though Luke's training was out in the open. Ami had recovered her full set of memories by the time we spent our 18th month on Hoth, although Han thought of this as weird. Still, Han began to come around to the notion that his "Little Sister" was a Jedi Commander who fought in the Clone Wars, only to be reborn as "Amy Solo". Behind the scenes, we brought Padme out of suspended animation, sans her memories, and placed her in the care of Hoshi Sato. We felt that she would need to slowly re-adjust to the new 'era' before she returns to Naboo. Previously, Queen T'Pol of Naboo was already making plans retrieve Padme, when an Imperial assassin murdered her husband Simon. As a result, we chose to place Padme in Hoshi's care for the time being,_

_In spite of all this, we did manage to enjoy "Life Day", which reminded me of Christmas back at home in many ways, with Chewbacca of Kashyyyk and his family, in spite of the heavy-handed tactics of the Empire. _

_

* * *

_

On Tattoine, Usagi was helping out her old friend Chalmun managed his cantina for the holiday rush, the one in Mos Eisley, while waiting for Ranma to finish his "quality time" with his wife Hoshi, before it was time to go to Kashyyk to celebrate Life Day. She wanted Luke to come with her, but the padawan had volunteered to take Wedge Antilles's place as patrol leader, so that Wedge could spend time with his family. Luke had assured Usagi that he'll visit his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru the next time he has an opportunity to be on leave.

At any rate, with nothing else to do, Usagi decided to help around the bar, before the night shift manager arrives.

"What'll it be?" Usagi asked, after wiping the table top of the bar.

"I want to try that…Romulan Ale, you created," said a customer.

"Well, I didn't create it, friend," Usagi replied. "I picked up the recipe from my days as a Starfleet Officer."

"You mean, Imperial officer," the patron said, as he accepted his drink.

"No, I mean what I just said," Usagi replied. "I'm not from this galaxy."

"Ah. So there is more hu-mons around in the Universe, then."

"A lot more," Usagi said. "We breed like rabbits, you know."

"Humph."

Just then, Ranma comes walking into the cantina.

"Hey, everyone," Ranma said, as Tho-ohki rode on his left shoulder.

"RANMA!" yelled the women in the cantina.

"Hey, what'll it be?" Usagi asked, as Tho-Ohki hopped on her shoulder from Ranma's.

"I'm cool."

"Hey, Tho-Ohki!" Usagi said, as she scratched her pet cabbit's chin.

"Mee-ya!" the cabbit said happily.

"Have you been good?"

"Mee-yah! Mee-yah!"

"Okay, here you go," Usagi said, as she hands her pet cabbit a large carrot.

"Mee-ya!"

"So, are you ready to go?" Ranma asked.

"Not yet," Usagi replied, as she checked the time. "The night manager hasn't made it yet-"

"I'm here, I'm here," said a middle-aged woman, dressed in robes, as she enters the establishment. She was not classically attractive, but she wasn't ugly either. She was a handsome woman.

"Oh, boy," Ranma said, as he turns away, trying to not to be noticed.

"Sorry I'm late, Usagi," said the woman, as she gets around the bar.

"No problem, Ackmena," Usagi said, as she takes off her apron, before handing it to Ackmena. Then, a mischievous thought crept into her mind.

"Ackmena, you remember Ranma, don't you?"

"Ranma?" Ackmena said. "Because of that jerk, I got stuck on this planet for the last twenty cycles, and lost a promising career as an entertainer in the process-!"

That's when Ackmena notices Ranma, who was trying to not be noticed.

"YOU!" Ackmena said.

"Oh, hi!" Ranma said cheerfully.

Ackmena slaps Ranma across the face.

"Ow!"

"That's for ruining my life!"

"Well, look at the time," Usagi said, as she takes her take from the till. "Come on, Ranma."

"Coming," Ranma said, as he rubs his face. "Man…that stung…"

Meanwhile, on Kashyyyk the family of Chewbacca gets ready to celebrate Life Day. To the outsider, they all would hear snarls and growls. However, the Wookies were a rather intelligent species who could hold an extensive vocabulary.

"[Lumpawarrump]!" growled Mallatobuck (or simply "Malla"), the matriarch of the Chewbacca family, as she walks away from the kitchen. [Stop playing with that video game, and come take out the garbage]."

"[But Mom, this is not a video game; it's a video game SYSTEM]," Lumpy said.

"[I don't care! Just get over here, please]."

Lumpy turns towards his grandfather Attichitcuk (nicknamed "Itchy"), who was carving wooden replicas of the famous X-Wing fighter.

"[Grandpa-]"

"[Listen to your mother, kid]," Itchy said.

"[Awww…]"

Hours later, Ranma and Usagi arrived on the outskirts of the city of Rwookrrorro, after circumventing the Imperial patrol ships that patrol the Kashyyyk sector.

"Move along!" said a Storm Trooper, as he waved Ranma-onna, Usagi-otoko and Tho-Ohki (who was in humanoid form, pretending to be a child) through the check points. After

"Of course," Usagi-otoko said, as he nods slightly. While Ranma used his curse to become female, Usagi used a boon she received from the Olympian Proteus to change her form. And since the Empire was watching for a cabbit, Tho-Ohki assumed humanoid form in order to trick the Empire into not noticing this "fact".

"Come along, honey," Usagi-otoko said, as he encircled Ranma-onna with arms. "I want to make sure that you get home to fix me my meal."

"Tee-hee!" Ranma-onna said, as she playfully punches Usagi-otoko in arm.

"Owie!"

"You say the silliest things…"

"Me-ya?" Tho-Ohki asked.

"What did that child say?" asked the check point guard. "Did he just yowl?"

"Er, my adopted son was raised in wild," Usagi-otoko said.

"It's a habbit we're trying to break, sir," Ranma-onna interjected.

"Huh," replied the guard. "Alright, watch yourselves while you are here on Kashyyyk. We have been getting reports of activities from the Rebel Alliance on this planet."

"Will do, sir!" Usagi-otoko replied.

And, with that, the impromptu family leaves the receiving station, only to meet with a local trader, and mutual friend, named "Saun Dann" (older, white-haired man with a slight potbelly).

"What a bunch of weirdoes," the imperial guard said, as he shook his head…

"Who are they?" said a voice from behind.

The guard turns around and snaps to attention.

"Sir!" said the Imperial guard.

"Well?" the Imperial officer said with annoyance.

"I do not know, sir," the Imperial guard said, as he shows the passenger manifest to his superior. "They just arrived…"

"Hmmm," the officer said, as he looked at the names. "And they are from Tattooine, no?"

"Yes, sir."

"And where is their ship?"

"Er…"

"Thank you for your incompetence," the officer said, as he walked away.

"Huh?"

Later, after leaving the city, Saun Dann takes Usagi and her companions to Chewbacca's place…

"Happy Life Day!" Saun Dann said, as he brings in the gifts.

"[Oh]!" Malla said happily. "[Come on in]!"  
"[Hey, Malla]," Usagi said, as she hugged Chewbacca's wife. "[You are looking rather well…]"

"Since when did you know Wookie?" Ranma asked, as he sets down the packages and cases with Tho-Ohki.

"Ranma, I made an effort to learn Chewie's language, after Han got caught by the Imperials that first time," Usagi said. "I didn't want to be in the position where not knowing Wookie could get a friend killed."

Pause.

"Besides, if I were to be Lumpy's godmother, I should make an effort to understand him."

"Huh."

"[Did you bring presents, Aunt Usagi]?" Lumpy asked excitedly.

"We all did, kiddo," Saun Dann said, as he hands Lumpy a gift. "Usagi picked it, and I bought it."

"You can understand, Saun?" Ranma asked.

"Being a free trader on Kashyyyk, I should hope so," Saun replied. "I just can't speak it, that's all-"

And then, a ship's roar could be heard from above.

"Me-ya?" Tho-Ohki asked.

"Is it an Imperial control?" Ranma asked.

"[It could be the Millennium Falcon]," replied Itchy, as he comes over to the rest of his family. "[My boy Chewie always makes it to Life Day]."

"Huh?"

"Itchy is saying that Han and the others will be here," Usagi said with a smirk.

"Oh."

"Although, I'm surprise they would land right in the open like this…"

Soon, the house ringer buzzed.

"[That's Dad]!" Lumpy said enthusiastically, as he goes to the door.

"[Lumpy, wait]!" Itchy said.

Too late, Lumpy opens the door to reveal a Storm Trooper.

"Oh, boy," Saun said, as he looks away…

Four more Storm Troopers and two Imperial Officers enter Chewbacca's home.

"Check the upstairs," said the senior officer, as he snaps his fingers.

Usagi motions her head towards Ranma, while Ranma nods his head in reply…

The senior officer then receives a report of nothing unusual happening in the other parts of the home. He then proceeds to talk to the Wookies.

"A blond male, a red-haired female and their 'child' were heading for this place," the officer asked. "Where are they?"

"They are here," Ranma said, as he suddenly switches into his female form. "Ta da!"

"You!" said the officer. "Place him under arrest-!"

Suddenly, the Storm Troopers were received a Force bolt that stunned them in one fell swoop.

"I don't think so," Usagi said, as electricity sparked between her fingers. "Stand down."

"[This is the best 'Life Day' ever]!" Lumpy said.

"The Empire will not tolerate this!" the officer said.

"Really?" Ranma said, as Tho-Ohki hops on Ranma's shoulder. "Who will have to face Darth Vader for failing to go through proper procedures, when it is known that there are two Jedi Knights on Kashyyyk?"

The Imperial officer gulps his response. He knew that Vader did not tolerate failure even from the most loyal of Imperials.

"Perhaps, we can work something out?" the officer said with a gulp.

"I think that would be wise," Saun said. "In the spirit of Life Day, of course."

"Of course, of course…"

And so the Imperial officer would official report that there were no anomalies reported, in reference to the passenger manifest. It did help that he and his men were bribed while giving a stern warning about the possibility of reprisals, should anything happens to Chewbacca's family. So, that was that.

Nevertheless, the Millennium Falcon did arrive just in time for Chewbacca to celebrate Life Day, so that a cosmic communal ceremony could take place, where the Wookies would go to a place on an extradimensional plane with invited guests, but all exchanged gifts, either of knowledge or of experiences.

"Happy Life Day, Luke," Usagi said, as she gives Luke a present. Within the context of the astral planes, knowledge could be packaged as gifts.

"Thanks, Usagi!" Luke said, as he received a gift. "And here's yours…"

"Thanks, Big Brother!" Ami said, as she hugged Han. "I always wanted to have a better poker face."

"Any time, kiddo…"

"My, my, Ranma," Hoshi said, as she hugged Ranma. "To think I get two gifts in one day."

"Hey, anytime, Ho-chan," Ranma replied. He then sees Leia, as she looked out into the Universe.

"Excuse me for a moment…"

Leia sighed, as she looked at the stars. She had been trying to contact her old nanny, ever since Alderaan had been destroyed.

"Blasted," Leia said with a sigh. "Where are you, Ranko…?"

"Hey," Ranma said, as he stood near Leia.

"Oh, hello, Master Ranma," Leia said with a gentle smile. "Happy Life Day."

"The same to you," Ranma replied. "I couldn't help notice that you're standing here alone."

"Well, it's just that I miss an old friend," Leia replied. "Plus, with my home planet gone, I feel the need to…see her again."

"Well, I'm sure wherever your nanny is, she's feels the same way," Ranma replied.

"How do you know that had a nanny, and that she's a she?" Leia replied with a frown.

"Um, well, Happy Life Day," Ranma said nervously, as he backs way. "Gotta go-!"

As Ranma mingled with the others, Leia's mind began to whirl…

"No, it can't be," Leia said to herself, realizing that, save for differences in hair color and gender, Ranma's mannerism were exactly the same as Ranko Tendo's, her nanny…

"One way or another, I'll find the truth yet!" Leia replied, with determination in her eyes.

**Tbc.**


	5. Chapter 5

SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force! – By DS Wynne

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Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other properties belong to their respective owners.

Note: this is a mult-genre story.

* * *

Part 5

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From the holicron of Jedi Knight Usagi ben Kenobi, Grandmaster of the Jedi Order circa 2011 CE (Earth Standard Time):

_After the holidays, the Rebel Alliance finally settled down on the ice planet of Hoth. During the initial foray there, Ranma got caught up in two messy situations. First, Leia learned the truth about her "nanny", and blew up on Ranma. Secondly, while looking for Luke, who failed to report in on his regular checks, Ranma got tangled with a tribe of Wampas. Basically, they were like the abominable snowmen from my native Earth, only a tad vicious. Well, they were more vicious. Anyway, Ranma survived by skinning a few of them for warmth, until patrols recovered him. However, this was a prelude to much more interesting times…_

While on patrol riding "taun-tauns", Luke and Usagi encountered a large "wampa" that tried to use an incoming ice storm for cover. After Luke dispatched the creature, and Usagi used her "air elemental magic" to do away the storm, the two Jedi stopped to train.

"What are we going to do?" Luke said, as he prepared to take out his lightsaber.

"We are going to do some footwork," Usagi said, as she tapped the ice floor. "Yep."

"Yep, what?"

"Use your senses."

Luke did as he was told. He then realized that they were over a frozen lake.

"Uh…"

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

"Prepare yourself, young master."

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

"Here I come, dumpling head!"

Luke took the imitative, and charged. He performed a thrust, while Usagi merely sidestepped the attack. Luke tried to stop himself, but the slippery ice made his footing difficult.

"Whoa!"

"Easy, Luke. You have to control yourself."

"Okay," Luke said, remember what Usagi said about using one's momentum to your advantage.

The whole point of the exercise was to teach Luke to be in control of his movements. In a deadly duel between lightsaber users, all it took was one move to end a fight.

With a huff, Luke managed to make contact with Usagi with his 'saber.

BLAM! BLAM!

"Not bad," Usagi says, as she twirls her weapon. "You might make it out of this yet."

Meanwhile, Leia, having taking her break from her administrative duties with the Rebellion, was training her body in the gym room. She had a block of ice put in, so that she can practice her vacuum blade technique.

"Ha!"

At this point of her training, she was learning how to be precise.

Ftt! Ftt! Ftt-!

"There," Leia said, as she admired her handiwork.

It was a statue of her father Bail.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

"Nice job," Ranma said, as he entered the room. "You got Bail's likeness."

"What do YOU want?"

Leia was still mad at Ranma for learning that he was really Lady Ranko, her nanny.

"Leia…"

"You LIED to me, 'Ranma'. All my life, I wanted to be like you…and you took it all that away."

"Leia, I was your nanny to protect you from the Emperor. And since what I looked like was already known, I had to live as a female."

Leia looks Ranma, and then shakes her head.

"I…need some time…"

"Sure. Take all the time you want."

After Leia leaves, Han shows up…

SPLASH!

"What did you do that for?" Ranko fumed. Already, she was feeling the affects of her highly sensitive body.

"Ah, just wanted to see YOU again," said Han, as he stood close to the redhead.

"Quite kidding around. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to say good-bye, 'red'. Ami doesn't want to go, but, well, with that bounty on my head…"

"I thought we paid off that reward?"

"Jabba upped the ante, I'm afraid."

"Well, you got to do what you have to do. Just be sure to say something to Usagi before you leave."

"Sure, sure…"

Suddenly, Han gave Ranko a kiss on the lips.

POW!

"Jerk! It ain't like that!"

"Ah, the memories…"

On the way back, Usagi and Luke came across an Imperial probe, which spotted them.

"Usagi-!" Luke said.

Usagi reached out, and crushed the probe using the Force.

"'Echo Base', this is General Tsukino. We have a problem."

Sure enough, the imperial forces landed its forces on the surface, prompting an emergency war room session.

"Okay," Ranma began. "We have a two-prong situation. We will use the transporters to beam all of non-organic equipment to the transport ships on the opposite side of the planet. The rest of us will deal with personnel."

Ranma turns to Usagi, Luke and Wedge Antilles.

"General Tsukino will lead the ground forces against the approaching Imperials. They will run interference long enough to prevent the Imperial from taking down the power generators. Princess?"

Princess Leia looks at Ranma, and nods.

"We are counting on you to do your best. We have faith in you. Good luck, and may the Force be with you…"

Usagi steps forth.

"Gold, green, red and blue squadrons…MOVE OUT!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Later, Usagi gets into the cockpit of her snow-speeder. It was a craft geared for low atmospheric in arctic environments. When she gets in, she sees-

"Ami!"

Ami smiled.

"You need a navigator, right?"

"But what about Han?"

"The repairs are almost done."

Usagi shakes her head.

"Alright. Just…keep your eyes open for those Imperial Walkers."

"Right!"

Usagi taps her microphone.

"Commander Skywalker, this is General Tsukino."

"This is Skywalker. Ready?"

"Affirmative. I'll take Gold Squadron, while you lead Red. Commander Antilles will lead Green Squadron. General Saotome is on Blue Squadron, and will take on the approaching Imperial fleet."

"Understood."

"And Luke, DO be careful, okay?"

"Sure thing! Skywalker out."

The battle with the Imperials was to allow Echo Base time to evacuate its personnel to Rebel fleet's secondary hideout. The 'Walkers were large, metallic behemoth that were walking weapons platforms.

"Hang on, Ami!" Usagi said, as she piloted her snow-speeder between the legs of the walker…

The gambit proved to be a success. With the delay caused by the defending

Rebels, the Rebel Alliance transport ships took off from Hoth.

Meanwhile, Usagi and Ami went back to Echo Base.

"Will Luke be alright?" Ami asked, as their snow speeder coasted to a stop.

"Yeah, he will be," said Usagi, as she opens the hatch. "Get to the 'Falcon. I'll meet you later at the rendezvous site."

Ami nods, and hops off the snow speeder.

"Good luck!"

Usagi waves her hand, and leaves the hanger bay.

As Ami heads back to her quarters, before running into Han…who was running away with Princess Leia.

"Run!"

Ami frowned, and sees Snow Troopers heading her way…

SNAP! Hzzzzz-

SLICE!

Ami takes out her lightsaber, and began to hold off the attack.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

"AMI!" Han cried out. He knew that his "Kid Sister" could take care of herself, but…she was STILL family.

"Coming!"

In another section of the base, Darth Vader strove down the hall with his soldiers. Suddenly, the hall ceiling burst open behind them.

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

SLICE!

SLICE!

SLICE!

When the enemy soldiers fell dead, Usagi stood, with her purple lightsaber blazing.

"So…we meet yet again, Lady Usagi," says Darth Vader, as he drew his light saber.

SNAP! Hzzzz…

"You've always had the grasp of the obvious, Vader," Usagi replied, as she readied herself. "Ranma told me to keep an eye on you, when he spotted you transport leaving your destroyer."

As predicted, the Imperials were able to bring down the shield generator.

However, thanks to Luke and his fellow pilots, many lives were saved. Ami helped to jury-rig much of the Millennium Falcon's system for flight capability. She only hoped that Han's piloting doesn't get the 'Falcon hit too many times. Otherwise, the hyper-drive might go out again.

Essentially, Usagi put her 'speeder on autopilot, making the enemy think that she had already left and snuck back into Echo Base.

The two Force users traded heavy blows, moving at speeds that made them a blur.

Unfortunately, Vader had improved somewhat from his encounter with Ranma, both in strength and will. Usagi found herself being thrown into the walls, while Vader found himself being pummeled as well.

"You've gotten good, Ani."

"My name is VADER!"

Vader delivered a Force-blow that knocked Usagi backwards.

"You Jedi may have dismissed me, but YOU, Usagi, shall be the one to pay the price."

Suddenly, Mecha Tho-Ohki burst through another wall.

"Well, my ride is here, Vader," Usagi said, as she got up, while deactivating her weapon and hopping into Tho-Ohki's armored body. She had mentally contacted Tho-Ohki as soon as she had put her speeder on autopilot. "Be seeing you."

With that, Usagi was gone.

"Of that, I have no doubt," replied Vader, as he deactivated his weapon.

Once Thumper had switched to ship-mode, Usagi signaled Luke, who was waiting for her.

"So, are we following Han and the others?"

"No, change of plans," Usagi said, as she tapped her microphone. "They'll be fine…I think."

"Okay, so, where are we going?"

"We're going to the Dagobah System for more training. Hang on-!"

And with that, Tho-Ohki and Luke Skywalker's X-Wing went into hyperspace. Destination: Degobah...

Meanwhile, the Millennium Falcon was having trouble of its own.

"Ami, can't you get the manifold align!" Han yelled.

"I'm doing the best I can, Han!" Ami replied.

"Hey!" Leia interjected. "Stop picking on Ami!"

"Oh, where are you, Usagi!" Luna wailed.

Chewie merely growled in frustration.

Suddenly, the Millennium Falcon's communications unit squawked.

"Blue-One to Millennium Falcon…"

Leia took a microphone and placed it on her head.

"Ranma?' Leia said in surprised. "Is…that you?"

Since going into battle, Leia was worried about her friend, even if she was still angry at Ranma for his dishonesty…

"Yeah," Ranma replied. "My fighter is damaged, and I don't know how long my life-support will last…"

"Han, we got to do something!" Leia said, as she turns towards Han.

"I'm on it," Han said. "Ranma, prepare for an up-close pass…"

At the last minute, Ranma jettisoned himself into space…

ZING!

The Millennium Falcon's mini-transporter activates long enough to bring Ranma on board.

"Ranma!" Leia cried, as she hugged him. Tears were streaming down her eyes.

"It's okay…snowflake. It's okay…"

SPLASH!

"Hey!" Ranko said.

"Han!" Ami yelled.

Han merely chuckled, as he tosses his buckle to the side.

"Shhh!" Leia says. "Let me have my 'Ranko' for a while."

"Sigh."

Afterwards, Leia secured Ranma in the medical bay…

"Just lie still, and get better," Leia said, as she covered Ranma with some blankets. "We'll get you some help as soon as possible."

"Thanks. And Leia?"

"Yes…Ranma?"

"I promise that I'll always be there for you."

"Thanks."

Ranma sighed, as he relaxed a bit. He knew that Leia learned much in the ways of the Force, but she was every bit as competitive as her father. Question was: did he teach her enough to avoid falling towards the Dark Side?

"Now I know how Master Yoda felt about Anakin," Ranma said, as he falls into a state of unconsciousness…

**Tbc.**


	6. Chapter 6

**SMSTSS 20: The Guardian of the Force! – By DS Wynne**

**

* * *

**

**Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other properties belong to their respective owners.**

**Note: this is a mult-genre story.**

**

* * *

**

**Part 6**

**

* * *

**

Leia left the medical bay, and went to the cockpit. Bad enough that they couldn't jump into hyperspace…

"Where are you going?" yelled Leia. Bad enough to be separated from her friends…

"We're heading-"

BANG!

"-There," Han said, as he pointed to the incoming asteroid field.

"Are you out of your MIND?"

"I must say that the odds of piloting through an asteroid field is very slim, Captain Solo," C3-P0 interjected. "Perhaps we should surrender-"

"Quiet!" yelled Han. "I got enough to worry about! And never tell me the odds."

"RRROWRL!"

"I know, I know! Just navigate, will ya!"

Deftly, the 'Falcon made its way through the asteroid field, and even found a spot on one of the largest rock. Unfortunately, the situation was a close one.

"How long are we going to be stuck in this rock?" asked a perturbed Leia, who could hear the sounds of Imperial bombardment overhead.

"Well, you can always meditate or something…or whatever you 'Jedi' do."

"I think I'll do just that. Humph!"

Leia went to one of the few places aboard the 'Falcon that served as a spare room, which was about the size of a broom closet. When Leia found her meditation spot, she began her mental exercises. Ever since she was six years old, Ranko…no, RANMA had been teaching her a powerful form of martial arts. She was trained in the use of a variety of weapons, including the use of the lightsaber. Now that she has learned of her former nanny's past, she was thinking of seeking training to be a Jedi. Oh, well.

Flowing with The Force, Leia felt…something. She tried to focus on the source, but she couldn't get a lock on it. Leia then expanded her consciousness outward, and it was then that she made a horrible discovery. At the same time, C3-P0 made its own discovery as well.

"OH! What is that?" the droid said, as it saw yet another creature of some type flew by.

Ami looked up from her repairs with Chewie, when she notices her Mercury Computer's alarm.

"Huh?" replied Han, who looked up from his repairs.

"RROWRL!"

"Fine! I check it out then-"

"HAN! We got to get out here!" Leia said, as she entered the cockpit

"It's only a few things out there. I'll simply remove- hey! What do you think you're doing, 'princess'?"

"Trust me, when I say that we got to get out of here NOW!"

"Big Brother, she's right," Ami said, as she hurriedly reconnected the systems.

"Alright, alright. Chewie? Fire her up."

Luna ran to the cockpit with C3-P0 in tow.

"Captain Solo!" Luna cried. "They're monster out there!"

"Then sit down and hang on. We're leaving."

With the roar of the engines, came tremors of some kind. As the 'Falcon came upon the entrance of the cave, it began to get smaller and smaller….

WHOOSH!

CHOMP!

Han then realized that he had piloted the 'Falcon into a giant space worm of some kind.

"'We'll be safe in here' he says," Leia said mockingly. "Riiight."

"Aw shaddup!"

"So, bright boy, any new ideas?"

"RRROWL!"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking…Ah ha!"

"What?"

"I know an old friend who can help us. And he's not far from here. Chewie? Plot a course to Bespin."

"Hopefully, you're friend won't set up a trap where we get captured by Imperials or something."

"Hey, trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Isn't that where Mr. Calrissian is working these days?" asked Ami.

"Sure is."

"Who is this Calrissian fellow?" asked Luna.

"He used to own the 'Falcon."

"Oh."

Sure enough, Han piloted the ship to the cloud city at Bespin. The port served as a depository for the miners from down below, and also served as a market for that sector of space. As soon as the 'Falcon touched down, Han and company debarked.

"Okay, leave it up to me."

A tall, dark and suave gentleman was the first to greet the rogue pilot.

"You got some nerve coming here."

Then with a feint, the man rushed Han, forcing him into a defensive position.

"Hahahahaha! Got you."

"Yeah, right."

Then the two men embraced.

"Han, old buddy! It's good to see you."

"Same here."

"And I see you decided to bring MY ship back."

"YOUR ship? I won her fair and square."

"That I doubt very much. What brings you here?"

"The 'Falcon needs repairs, and so-"

"You're looking for a freebee. Fair enough. With your piloting skills, I wouldn't be surprise if the damage done to her is fairly extensive."

"Ha. Ha."

Lando then sees Ami.

"Ami!"

"Lando!" Ami said, as she hugged the man.

"How's it going, kid?"

"The usual."

"Oh, so Han's been getting into trouble again, eh?"

Han rolls his eyes.

Then Lando sees Leia.

"Well, well, well. So who's this fine woman?"

"This is my friend Leia Organia. Leia, this is my friend Lando Calrissian."

"Charmed," Leia replied. She felt that there was something off about Han's "friend".

"My house is your house," Lando said, as he kissed Leia's hand.

"So, about the 'Falcon…?"

"Sure. I'll get my people on it right away. But in the meantime, please, make yourself comfortable."

"Mr. Calrissian, we have a friend who needs medical attention," Leia says. "He is aboard the 'Falcon."

"Of course. I'll have a medical tech and droid tend to your friend's need.

Are you sure it's safe here? Leia thought telepathically to Han.

Yeah, I'm sure, Han responded. It felt weird speaking to Leia like this.

Thankfully, he's gotten used to the process since becoming friends with Usagi and Ranma a long time ago.

I hope so, because I got a bad feeling about this place…

Unfortunately, Leia's foreboding proved to be an accurate assessment. Of course, being a "newbie" in the ways of the Force, she had to give Han's friend the benefit of a doubt. But, the next day…

"So, what do you think of this place so far?" Lando asked, as he showed the place around to his friend Han.

"You got a sweet set up, Lando," Han said. "I'm very impressed."

"RRROWRL!"

Meanwhile, C3-P0 noticed that a similar protocol droid was in the hallway.

"Hello. My name is C3-P0. What is your designation?"

The droid simply ignored him.

Normally, C3-P0 would simply note this. However, curiosity got a hold of the droid. So it followed the silver protocol droid into a room. When C3-P0 turned the corner, the droid saw something familiar.

"What are YOU doing here?"

"Oh! Oh my-!"

BOOM!

"RRROWRL!"

"I DON'T know, Chewie. Maybe he needs a tune up or something."

"I'll go find him," Ami says.

"Well, hurry back! I don't want you to get lost."

"Don't worry about it, Han. I'll have my people take care of things. By the way, there's something I have to show you…"

Leia had been on edge somehow, as if something dark was lurking about. As she and the group got closer to Lando's conference room, she had the urge to flee very quickly.

"Han, don't!" Leia suddenly cried.

Just as she gave out her warning, the door opened, revealing the dark lord himself: Darth Vader.

Han immediately drew his blaster and fired upon Vader; Vader responded by raising his hand, which blocked the shot. Then, quite casually, Vader "pulled" the weapon out of Han's hand. Han immediately pressed his wristwatch, warning Ami of what's going on. It was something that was developed in case something was up.

"I'm sorry, but the Imperials came before you did," Lando said coolly.

"A friend of yours?" Leia asked sarcastically.

"I used to think so."

"RRROWRL!" Chewbacca said, just as he was about to shoot Vader.

"I would not do that if I were you, Wookie," Vader quipped. "Come, and sit. We have much to discuss, starting with the whereabouts of Lady Usagi and her apprentice."

"Sir," said a storm trooper. "We are unable to find the Jedi Miss Mizuno or her Master."

"No matter," Vader said. "As long as we have their ship, there is no where those two can go."

"No matter," Vader says. "As long as we have their ship, they cannot leave this city."

Some place else…

"Ranma, come on," Ami said, as she helped a limping Ranma Saotome. "We have to keep moving."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Ranma says, as he limped along. Ami had snuck into the medical wing to retrieve him, after recieving the warning from Han. Unfortunately, he was still sick from being in space. "Where's Leia?"

"She's being held prisoner."

Ranma nods his head, as he suddenly moves his hands over Ami's body.

"Ohhhhhhh…"

"I'm sorry, Ami," Ranma says, as he carries Ami's limped body. "I have an obligation to meet."

Ami was then placed in a nearby utility closet. Afterwards, Ranma disappeared in the woodwork.

An hours later, Vader found out two things. One, Leia has great potential in the

Force, and, two, she was being trained in the ways of the Force by those Jedi. While this makes things frustrating, it did bring up a perfect opportunity.

"I will not turn over Usagi or Ranma, Vader."

"While I am impressed with you're apparent Jedi training, especially in being elusive in our interrogations. I am very impressed indeed. But that will not help you."

"What do you mean?"

"You have potential, and I am willing to overlook your rebellious ways…for a price."

"Doesn't matter what it is. No deal!"

"Oh, I think you will appreciate this deal. You WILL be my student, or your friends will DIE."

"I would never do that. NEVER."

"Take a look, then."

On a monitor, Leia could see Han being tortured. Shhe knew that Han, in spite ofher high-profile status within the rebellion, he knew nothing vital. Well, except where Usats and Luke were at the moment. But Vader didn't know that.

Still, with the destruction of the planet Alderaan, Leia was sensitive about life.

"Please, he doesn't know anything!"

"You are probably right, Princess. Then again, you might be lying. Until you agree to my terms, the interrogation continues."

Leia continued to look at the monitors. Then, she came to a decision.

"I…I accept," Leia said, as her aura died.

"Excellent."

Later on the Cloud City of Bespin…

"Okay, papers please!" said the Imperial storm troopers.

Usagi, who wore a beige duster, looked up. She had Luke make a holding patter while she snuck aboard an incoming transport ship. With a smirk, she, through ahole in her coat pocket, dropped a live grenade onto the ground and kicked it to a nearby regiment of troops…

BOOM!

With that distraction out of the way, she back fisted one sentry, and punched another. She used the Force to augment her blows, causing both of their armorsto crack. Before the last sentry went down, she took his weapon and began firing upon the incoming troopers.

As a precaution, she had Thumper teleport to Luke's fighter after she got on the transport.

Luke, you should have a clear shot on the other landing bay, Usagi thought. I'll meet you halfway.

I hear you, Luke thought back.

Meanwhile, Leia was both mourning and fuming that Han was placed in carbonite and that Boba Fett was now delivering his "coffin" to the gangster Jabba the Hutt. Then, she saw Luke.

"Luke, run! It's a trap!"

"Leia! Thumper, R2- Go find Usagi. Go!"

"BEEP-BEEB-bee-orr!"

"YeeOW!"

"I'll be fine. Go!"

Once the droid and the cabbit went into the other direction, Luke followed where Leia went.

SHOOP!

And down Luke went.

While Luke went to meet his destiny, Lando, thanks to a change of heart, had been able to free the wookie. Chewbacca wanted to tear him apart, but Usagi arrival stayed his hand. Lando was pleasantly surprised to see Han's old running buddy.

"Usagi, you made it!" Ami cried. She woke up in time to hear the commotion caused by Usagi's actions.

"Ami, what's up?"

Ami told Usagi everything that she knows.

"Great," Usagi said. She then turns to Lando. "Lando…long time no see."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to find Han and the others. Seen them around?"

"Heh. Well, you see…"

Luke slid down a hole into the bowels of the Cloud City. Already, he felt a very strong presence. Once he finished his descent, Luke picked himself up and sought out the source of the disturbance.

"Hello, Skywalker."

Luke turned to see Darth Vader standing menacingly. He then put away his blaster, and pulled out his light saber.

"Darth Vader. Where's Leia?"

"Still concerned for the Princess, even though you have to face me? Interesting.

Rest assured, she is well…at the moment."

Snap! Hzzzzzzzz…

"I'm ready for you. You WILL face justice, Vader."

Snap! Hzzzzzzzz…

"We shall see. After you submit, I shall go after your master Usagi."

And thus the battle was on.

Meanwhile, Usagi and the others managed to catch up with Boba Fett, as he was about to transport the frozen remains of Han Solo. Once they arrived, Usagi signaled the group to stand back. Boba, who saw Usats coming, lowered his weapon slowly.

"Jedi Usagi Tsukino."

"Boba. Still following your father's footsteps, eh?"

"What can I say? It's a family business. What do you want?"

"I want Captain Solo."

"Can't do that. Jabba called in the bounty on Solo's head."

"I see."

Usagi pulled out a briefcase from pocket space, and tossed it to Boba, who caught it after he slung his weapon. Keeping an eye on Usagi, Boba opened the case. Everyone saw that a glow was emitting from the inside of the case.

"Well, I call and raise. What do you say?"

"This doesn't end the bounty, but it will buy Solo some time. Take him."

And with that, Solo was wheeled out.

"Where did you get that-"

"Don't ask."

Usagi turns to Lando.

"Lando, you and Chewie get Han onto the 'Falcon. There's someone who I need to rescue."

"Leia?"

"No. Leia's not on Bespin."

"Then, who?"

"Luke."

The battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader was a savage affair. A couple of times, Vader used dirty tricks to carbonite Luke.

POW!

Vader side-kicked Luke into the carbonite machine. Before the machine could activate, Luke leaped out just in time before he was "carbonated".

"Where's Leia?" Luke demanded.

"The Princess? Here."

Vader took out a small device and threw it in the air. Immediately, a holographic image formed around the device.

"Luke, run! It's a trap!" the image mouthed.

"You should have used your senses to determined the validity of this 'person',"

Vader smirked.

"Bastard!" Luke yelled, as he sliced Leia's image, rendering the device useless.

PLOOP!

"You'll pay for that!"

As predicted, Vader WAS stronger than ever, having parried every blow that Luke mustered. Luke swung left, Vader blocked. Luke thrust, Vader parried. However, the battle got intense when Vader picked up a girder with his power, and slammed it Luke. Luke pushed back, and nearly got his head cut off for his efforts.

"You are stronger than I anticipated. Excellent!"

"Thank Lady Usagi for her efforts."

"Of course, I will. But your lesson from me has not been concluded."

Vader waved his hand, and the machinery around moved together, forming some sort of golem like creature.

"As they say, two are better than one. Attack!"

The creature rushed Luke, who jumped and weaved out of its grasp, only to block additional sword attacks by Vader.

Damn! Luke thought to himself. This is like that plant thing Usagi was telling me about! Got to remain calm…

Luke, in desperation, willed that the physical laws around the golem adjust slightly, by suddenly affecting the gravitation constant of the universe. The result was that the creature was now weightless, and was unable to move. Thus, it floated towards the ceiling of the metal construct.

"Very good. Let us take this battle outside," Vader said, as he raised his palm towards Luke.

ZAP!

By hurling a bolt of dark energy, Luke was knocked into a nearby window, and out into the inner cavern of the city. Thankfully, Luke had enough practice in telekinesis to prevent himself from falling to his death. Seeing a nearby railing, Luke floated down and grabbed it.

"Whew!"

Then Vader appeared, as he phased up the floor.

"We are not done yet, young one."

"Oh, boy."

The battle continued in earnest. Each sword stroke was more dangerous than the next. With Luke caught on the defensive, he tried to hold his own. Under normal circumstance, Vader's relentless pounding would have ended up with Luke getting his hand severed. However…

Whrrrrrrrr-!

FZZZZZZ!

Vader leaped just in time to block a thrown saber. The purple saber returned to Usagi's hand.

"Vader, Vader, Vader. Trying to cut off my student's hand? Shameful."

Usagi floated down to the walkway, putting Luke directly between her and Vader.

"Ah, my old friend. I am glad that you are here."

Vader deactivated his weapon, and walked towards Luke.

"Luke, you have much potential in the ways of the Force. Join me, and we can defeat the Emperor. Together, we can bring order to the galaxy!"

"Luke, don't listen to him!" Usagi yelled. Don't make the same mistake HE made!"

"I'll never join you! YOU KILLED MY FATHER!"

"Really? Did your 'master' tell you the tale?"

"Vader…" Usagi warned.

"What do you mean?" asked Luke.

"I did not kill your father, Luke. I AM your father!"

"…"

"Vader, you should not have told him that!" Usagi yelled, as she raised her weapon for battle.

"No. NOOOOOOO! It's not possible!"

"Trust your feelings, my son. Why do you think that I never went after Usagi on Tattooine? Or, why do you think that I have searched for your location since the fall of the Death Star? There are hundreds of rebel bases to choose from, to initiate the will of the Emperor. Why did I bother to look for you and ONLY you?"

"…"

"Son, join me…" Vader said, as he reached out.

In sheer panic, Luke leaped over the railing and fell straight to the core.

"Luke!" Usagi yelled, as she leaned over the railing.

Vader simply leaned over, and then looked at his foe. Usagi looked at Vader expectantly. However, Vader simply turned away, and began to walk in the other direction. Then he suddenly stopped.

"Go save him, Usagi. Our business can be concluded at another time."

With a nod, Usagi leaped over the railing as well. She went dove straight down, using her body weight and size to maneuver. At the same time, she mentally contacted her Padawan.

Luke, hang on! She thought. She really hoped that what Vader said didn't affect her relationship with her Padawan. Long ago, she made a promise to her friend

Padme, and she would be damned if she didn't fulfill that promise!

A short time later, after Han used the 'Falcon to rescue Luke and Usagi…

"Luke, you got to snap out it!" Han yelled, as he was trying to maneuver the

'Falcon out of harms way. Luckily, being carbonated didn't affect his vision long enough to hinder his vision much. "I need you to man the blasters!"

"…"

"Luke, please," began Usagi, who was busy trying get the hyperdrive up and running with R2-D2's help. While Lando assisted Han in the cockpit, Chewie was trying to put C3-P0; Thumper was doing his best to assist the wookie by getting whatever tool he needed. "I don't know what's going on in your hand, but I need you to man a gun."

"You lied to me."

"Luke, it's a bit complicated. Look, as soon as I can, I'll explain everything.

Besides, we need to get ready before we face Vader again."

"Why? What's the point?"

"He still has Leia. Remember?"

Luke didn't want to admit it, but he knew that Usagi was right. As long as Leia is in the clutches of Vader, the Rebel Alliance was in danger of loosing an important asset.

"Fine. But when this is all over, you owe me an explanation."

"Of that I promise."

Meanwhile…

"You will never get that unit operational," the protocol droid complained.

"BEEP-beep-bee-rr-BEEP!"

"Guys, hang on!" Lando yelled. After Vader threatened to "Change the deal

FURTHER" in their dealings, Lando knew which side he needed to be. If he had to be with this bunch, he might as well make himself useful.

Thankfully, Ami and R2-D2 had gotten the engines fixed.

Wrrrrrrr- BOOM!

"Lord Vader? The rebel ship as escaped," the commanding officer said nervously.

Vader simply turned away from the main viewing window, looked at the officer, and walked away. When he got to his chambers, he went to a nearby wall and looked up.

"Soon, your training will begin," he said to the carbonated Leia Organia. He found it much better to deliver the Princess to the Emperor in this manner.

Meanwhile, Ranma was stashed in the hull of Vader's ship. He was more than determined to free the girl who he helped to raise to adulthood.

And he was more than ready to deal with the Emperor himself.

A few days later, Lando, Chewbacca, Ami and Han get ready to separate from the convoy of rebel ships.

"Now you four stay out of trouble," Usagi said, while wearing her white robes.

She had been in meetings all day, so this little break was much needed. "And Ami is going to let me know if you DO get into trouble, Han. So deal with that Jabba situation as soon as you can."

"I'll do that, Usagi!" Ami says.

"Hey!" replied Han "I know what I'm doing!"

"Bloody unlikely!" Lando interjected. "Because of you, I lost my operation!"

"RRROWRL!"

"What HE said."

"Lando, old buddy, you were never meant to be an administrator. I'm doing a favor, don't you know."

"Yeah, right."

"And Han," Usagi began, "We'll find Leia…and Ranma. Trust me."

"I always do, old friend. I don't know why…"

"Hey!"

And with that, the 'Falcon was gone.

Luke? Thought Usagi.

Yes? Luke replied likewise.

"I know that what Vader said is shocking, but you have to trust me. When the time comes, I'll tell you everything. Please?"

"Okay."

"Luke, I…"

"Yes?"

"Never mind."

As the two looked outside at the stars, Usagi wondered how Luke would take to knowing the entire truth.

At any rate, what Darth Vader said was only a half-truth. As complicated as that may be, it will get even more so when Luke learns that he has a sister.

* * *

From the holicron of Jedi Knight Ranma ben Yoda, Weapon Master:

_"In the months following the disaster at the Cloud City on Bespin, I went underground. I avoided all contact between my allies, thinking that Usagi could hold the proverbial 'fort' for a while and myself. Initially, I had tried to rescue Leia from the clutches of the Emperor, but I was still too messed up to face him adequately. So, I went to Dagobah for some much needed training. Or, so I thought. I learned that a fellow Rebel Alliance pilot named "Stacy", who had secretly followed Usagi and Luke from Hoth, was a Force-sensitive, and therefore was a candidate for training. I wasn't really in the mood, but since Master Yoda was getting on in years, I relented. Of course, she got on my nerves, but I did train her according to Master Yoda's wishes. Eventually, Stacy decided to help in the search for Han, the object of her affections. So, I helped her repair her X-Wing, and sent her off. I was...glad that I did Master Yoda a favor, since I knew in my hear that the end was near for him...  
_

* * *

**Location: Dagobah.**

Jedi Master Ranko Saotome was in a state of meditation, as she sat in what she called "The Cave of Insight", where a Dark user of the Force was slain by the hand of the Jedi Master Yoda. She had to build up immunity to whatever she may face, when she confronts the Emperor.

On another note, Ranko, in honor of Leia, chose to remain female while in training. Besides, knowing Palpatine's sexist attitudes towards women were legendary, him being defeated by a "woman" would be "just deserts".

As Ranko continued her meditation exercises, her senses picked up a disturbance in the Force…

"Usagi…"

Ranko gets up, and head for Jedi Master Yoda's hut. Yoda, who was napping outside, opens his eyes when Ranko arrives.

"Visitors, we have," the Master says.

"Indeed," Ranko replies, as she cleans herself up.

"Well, we certainly survived that one, eh, Luke?" Jedi Mistress Usagi Tsukino says, as she pats her apprentice on the back. They were walking towards Yoda's home.

"Oh, we 'survived', alright," Jedi Padawan Luke Skywalker says. "Let me count the ways. We interrupt our training in the deserts of Tatttooine when Jabba the Hutt decided to muscle in on Watto's operations. As a result, Watto, YOUR business partner, gets killed, his manager, your friend, Hoshi gets injured in the process, and some girl who was living with her named 'Padme' gets kidnapped for Jabba's slave pens. YOU get pissed off, and staged a sting operation where you managed to get the help of Han, Lando, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 and C3-P0 to humiliate Jabba enough to set up an agreement that makes you even wealthier than you have ever been."

"And this is a problem because…?"

"Well, it sounds like something that a Sith would do."

"One, other than my ten percent, all the money I accumulate goes to the war effort, and, two, I like to get 'dirty'."

Luke sniffed the air.

"I'll say."

"Hey! You're the one who made me fall in rancor dung!"

"I knew I heard some racket out here," said a voice.

Usagi and Luke look up to see Ranko standing next to Yoda.

"RANMA!"

Usagi performed a "super-glomp" on Ranko.

"We were wondering what had happened to you…"

"I…was foolish enough to try to get Leia back from the hands of the Emperor."

"You bet you are, jerk."

Ranko and Usagi release each other.

"Hey, kid," Ranko says. "What's with the all-black look?"

"Just being a bit edgy these days," Luke replies.

Just then, Jedi Knight Ami Mizuno comes running up to the group.

"Sorry I'm running behind," Ami said, as she and Artoo slows down to a halt. "I needed to get Artoo tuned up after that mess with Jabba-"

Ami sees Ranko.

"Ranma!" Ami says, as she runs to hug Ranko. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, I am, Ami."

"Here, I am glad you all are," Yoda says, as he wheezed towards the group.

"Master Yoda, you should be careful," Ranko says.

"Nonsense," Yoda says. "End, my days will soon. Need to finish Jedi business, I must."

The assembled Jedi Knights nod in understanding.

**Location: Endor.**

Meanwhile, a very important person just arrived, via Imperial shuttle, on the newly created "Death Star II".

"Lord Vader, how are things proceeding?" asked Emperor Palpatine, also known as the Sith Lord "Darth Sidious".

"They are preceding fine, my Master," replied Darth Vader. "We have tripled the station construction, so we will be finished on scheduled."

"Excellent. And what of that other matter?"

"I have yet to find my son, or confront his Jedi Master or her colleagues."

"No matter. They will soon come to us. And how is our newest addition to the Sith ranks?"

"Observe," Vader replied, as he and the Emperor went into one of the launch bays that had been converted into a temporary training area.

Within a large, painted circle, a woman, dressed in black, used her red light saber to fight a squadron of droids. She twirled and moved in a beautiful kata, as each of her opponents fell apart. When the battle was over, the woman turned her weapon off.

"Daughter," Vader said.

"Father," said Leia, the newest Sith Acolyte. In his wisdom, Palpatine felt that it was time to see if a suitable replace for Lord Vader was needed. After all, Vader was getting older, and the Jedi Master Ranma Saotome was kind enough to have created a weapon worthy of being his apprentice…in spite of her flawed gender.

"I am impressed, young lady," Palpatine said with a crooked smile.

"Thank you, sire. I cannot wait until I confront my brother…and the rest of the Jedi scum."

"Indeed."

* * *

From the holicron of Jedi Knight Ranma ben Yoda, Weapon Master:

_"Over the course of a week, I went through several exercises with the others, as we all prepared for the next evolution of what remained of the Jedi Order. Luke came a long way from when I first knew him, and had a handle on the ethos and traditions of the Jedi. As a fellow Jedi Master, I was acquired to test Luke on all levels, just to make sure that Usagi had adequately trained him. Amazingly enough…she did. And when Luke passed my own examination, I gave my approval to Yoda, who approved Usagi's desire to give Luke a promotion…"_

_

* * *

_

**Location: Dagobah.**

Standing around in a semi-circle, was the assembled Jedi Knights.

Jedi Master Yoda raised his green-bladed light saber, signifying his role as a Jedi "consular".

Jedi Master Ranma Saotome raised his yellow-bladed light saber, signifying his role as a Jedi "sentinel".

Jedi Master Usagi Tsukino raised her purple/violet-bladed light saber, signifying her role as a "child of destiny".

And Jedi Knight Ami Mizuno raised her blue-bladed light saber, signifying her role as a Jedi "guardian".

All at once-

SNAP! Hzzzz…

The four Jedi activated their weapons.

Usagi steps forth.

"Jedi Padawan Luke Skywalker, knell," says Usagi.

Luke did as he was told.

Usagi then lowered her 'saber close to Luke's left shoulder.

"By the RIGHT of the Jedi..."

Usagi then lowers her weapon close to Luke's left shoulder.

"By the HONOR of the Jedi…it brings me great pleasure in naming you KNIGHT-

SLICE!

Off goes Luke's Padawan's braid.

"Of the Republic!"

After a few moments, the assembled Jedi deactivated their weapons.

"One more ceremony, we must have," Yoda says, as Luke rises. "Jedi Ami Mizuno, please step forth."

Luke steps back, while Ami moves forward.

"Ami Mizuno, recognize your accomplishments, I have. Proud to call you 'Master', I am."

Yoda and Ami bow towards each other.

"I promise to uphold the traditions of the Jedi, sir."

* * *

From the holicron of Jedi Knight Ranma ben Yoda, Weapon Master:

_"Master Yoda died the next day, but I could tell that he was proud to leave a solid legacy behind. On top of that, Usagi and I had to sit down and admit to Luke that what Darth Vader told him about him being his father was true. More to the point, we had to admit to Luke that Leia, the girl whom he had crush on, was, in fact his sister…and that his mother Padme was alive and well at the Rebel Alliance fleet's jump-point. I'm amazed that he took the news rather well. At any rate, with Yoda passing to the Great Beyond, we all packed up to rendezvous with the fleet at Sullust Sector."_

* * *

**Location: Sullust.**

After returning to the rebel fleet, the Jedi participated in a briefing. The mission: destroy the second Death Star.

"Man, I hate sequels!" whined Usagi.

"Hush, Usagi," Ranko chided. Even though she has gotten over her depression, she was still worried about Leia.

Afterwards, Lando receives final instructions from Han.

"Now, go easy on "The 'Falcon…'cuz Ami will let me how you do!"

"Look, I piloted the ship long enough to know how she runs," Lando replied.

"Yeah, well…"

"Han, relaxed," Ami interjected. "Lando and I will do just fine."

"Thanks, Ami," Lando replied with a smile.

"Just be careful, you two," Usagi says.

"Will do, Usako."

"'Usako'?" asked Han.

"Han, don't even go there," Luke replied. "Trust me on this."

Bop!

"I heard that!" Usagi said. "Hey, nothing happened!"

"Beep-Beep-Beee-oop!"

"Typical," Ranko said.

"How scandalous!" Threepio says.

"Yee-OW!"

"Rrrow!"

"Why must I be here?"

At Usagi's insistence, Padme would come along on the mission. She highlighted her mechanic's skill as the reason.

"Now, Padme, it's just that I need you, since Ami will be Lando's co-pilot. After me, you're WAY better than these clown in the use of the tool."

"Hey!" Han yelled with indignation.

Later…

Hours later, after the pirated Imperial shuttle went past the Imperial screens on Endor, the rebel squad made its way through the foliage. And then…

"You know," began Usagi, "I like to get back to nature now and again-"

BLAM! BLAM!

"But this is ridiculous!" Usagi yelled, as she fired her blaster at the Imperial scouts.

"Usagi, cover me!" Luke said, as he hopped on a speeder bike.

"Padme, stay here. Luke, wait for meeeeeeeeee-!" Usagi yelled, just after hopping on the back of Luke's 'bike.

"Usagi-!" began Ranko.

ZOOM!

"Damn."

"Leave it to those two to cause more trouble than necessary," Han said, as he shook his head.

"Why did Usagi insist that I come here?" asked Padme, as she ducked her head.

"I don't know," Han replied. "But she tends to be right about things than not."

After a series of mishaps, involving knocking off more Imperial scouts, Usagi found herself surrounded by furry creatures.

"Hello, little guy…"

Unfortunately, the furry creatures were pointing spears at her.

GULP!

A while later, Han, Luke and the other cadre were being hauled to the camps of the Ewoks. Only the fact that C3-P0 was seen as a god to them prevented its friends' deaths. Ewoks, being small and furry, was a tribal race that lived in trees. And now, Han and the others were about to be the main course for dinner.

"Tin plate, get us out of here!" yelled Han.

"I can't! They won't listen to me!"

"Well, well, well. Look what the cats dragged in. I mean, Ewoks…"

"Usagi! Get us out of here!" Ranko says.

Usagi, wearing a gown, simply chuckled.

"No way, Ranma! Besides, this is an opportunity to test my Padawan's skills.

Taking a cue from his master, Luke concentrated. Suddenly, the protocol droid and its chair began fly about. Believing C3-P0 now, the Ewoks let them go.

Later that night…

"I have to go face my father, Usagi," Luke said. "As long as I am here, I am endangering the mission."

Ranko was to accompany Luke as his "Second", since she was hell-bent in taking on the Emperor himself.

"If you think so, then you have my blessing."

Luke and Usagi hugged each other tightly, unaware that they were being watched by Padme.

"Good luck, kid."

Usagi then turned to Ranko.

"Ranma, I-"

"I know."

The two shared a deep kiss, in spite of Ranma being "Ranko" at the moment.

And with that, Luke and Ranko left to face the Sith.

After they left, Padme comes to the fore.

"You are just letting them go?" Padme asks.

Usagi sighs, as she turns to face her Padme.

"Padme, there's something that you would need to know..."

* * *

From the holicron of Jedi Knight Ranma ben Yoda, Weapon Master:

"_The next, the 'Battle at Endor' was well under way. Usagi and Han lead the combined Rebel/Ewok forces against the shield generator, in order to allow Ami and Lando a chance to take out the Death Star II. Meanwhile, Luke and I were escorted to the Emperor's chamber. Vader wanted to turn Luke to the ways of the Sith, but the both he and Palpatine wanted to destroy me outright. However, Palpatine's introduction of his newest Sith Acolyte was an indication that he wanted to make a game out our contest of wills…"_

_

* * *

_

**Location: **_**Death Star II**_

"Tell me, Master Saotome, how did Master Yoda die?" Palpatine said with a smirk.

Ranko, who was bound by manacles, stared at Palpatine.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve…girl?"

"No, Palpatine, I just wondering why I didn't kill you that first time."

"Humph. You would find out, my friend, that a Sith's weapon is his mind. However, I am glad that you are here to see my latest…creation. Leia?"

Ranko and Luke stared in awe, when Leia came from the side entrance of the throne room. She was dressed in some sort of black, long-skirted dominatrix outfit.

"Emotion is a very interesting thing," Palpatine says. "Her misplaced anger over your apparent betrayal was just what I needed to turn her into my own personal weapon. You, of course, was the 'black smith', but such a lovely creature shouldn't be used for misplaced causes."

"I see now. You want me to fight my own student?"

"Actually, no. You see, I want to first destroy your fellow Jedi's efforts…"

Palpatine waves off Luke.

"And then I will have Vader and his daughter destroy YOU together."

Ranko stares directly in Palpatine's eye.

"Actually, I'm not here for Vader; Usagi can deal with him."

SNAP!

"I'm here to end your reign of terror once and for all…you manipulative bastard!"

Ranko raise his right hand, just as Vader was about to make a move.

WOOOOOM…

An invisible barrier prevents Vader from stepping forward.

"Very well…Jedi," Palpatine says as he rose from his throne. "If I have to deal with you, then I shall."

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

"My pleasure, fool."

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

"Luke, I placed a Force-field around Vader. I don't know how long it will hold, since it will take all of my efforts to deal with the Emperor."

Luke nods.

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

"Ranma, I-"

"I know, Luke. And I'll understand if you need to take…extreme measures."

Luke nods, as he faces Leia…

SNAP! Hzzzzz…

Luke notices that Leia was starting to twirl her weapon…and then she flicked it…

FSSHH!

Suddenly, the lightsaber became a lightwhip.

"What-?"

FSSHH! FSSHH!

Luke avoided the attacks, wondering how such a weapon could have been produced.

"Let's rock, little brother," Leia says, as she initiated her attack.

Meanwhile, Ranko and Palpatine were fighting like mad, having been pushed the fight into the core area.

"You've gotten old, Palpatine," Ranko says, as she went after the Sith Lord. Every bit of training in the ways of the Force, every lesson that Yoda gave her was being used that day. Sure, she knew how to fight, but a true master of the Force was also a master of his or her environment as well as themselves. Had a novice been fight Palpatine, even a Sith Lord of Palpatine's caliber was enough to crush said novice.

But Ranko was Ranma Saotome…and thus cannot afford to lose.

In one quick move, Ranko made a feint, and stabbed Palpatine in the heart.

"ARRGH!"

"THAT was for Master Yoda!" Ranko said, as she plunged the energy weapon further.

When Palpatine stopped moving, Ranko removed her weapon from Palpatine's body. It slumped on the floor.

"It's…over."

As Ranko limped away, she failed to notice Palpatine's fingers moving…

Meanwhile, Vader finally freed himself from Ranko's will. He was about to join his daughter in her fight against Luke, when Usagi appeared…with Padme?

"Padme?" Vader said hesitantly.

"Yes, Ani, it's me," Padme said, as she steps forth. After Ranko and Luke left the shield station, Usagi had revealed the truth to the once queen of Naboo. And it was only after she, Usagi and Han had helped to take down the shield generator that they went to the _Death Star II_, with the help of Thumper, to confront Lord Vader and the Emperor. "Usagi told me all about it."

Usagi had her lightsaber ready, in case Vader decided to use his. However, Vader drops his 'saber and turns away.

"I…I believe you…the Force tells me so."

Just then, there was a loud commotion in the back.

POW!

Luke and Leia, who were faking her "conversion" the entire time, had moved their fight to where the Emperor's "Royal Guard" was stationed nearby. Needless to say, the fight was a short one.

"Father," Leia says, as she and Luke stands in front of Vader. "Your…plan…was a success."

Usagi looks at Leia and then at Vader.

"What…plan?"

"I had planned on deposing the Emperor to end this senseless war. So when my men had discovered Master Saotome in my ship years ago after the Bespin incident. I could have killed him then and there, being in such a weakened state, but…upon learning that I have children, I had a changed of heart."

"So while Ranma trained to fight Palpatine, you were training Leia in the event of something happening you," Usagi says. "If Palpatine got rid of you, then Leia would have been there to take out the Emperor."

"Correct. I was not about to end up like Darth Tyrannus, even if it meant paying for my…crimes against the Republic."

"And thus ends this little show," Ranko says, as she steps forth. "We're even, Vader," Ranko says. She then looks at Leia. "Mighty impressive, Leia."

"Thanks. I'm still mad at you, you know."

"Hey, we all have our faults."

"Well, that's that-" Usagi began.

"WRONG!" said a voice.

Everyone turned to see a limping, withering Palpatine.

"I told you, a Sith's weapon is my mind. And now that I have you all here…I will destroy you all!"

ZAP!

Streams of Dark Force lightning leapt from Palpatine's hands and struck the assembled group.

"NO!" Vader said, as he took on the full brunt of the blast. He stalked over to the Emperor, picked him up and tossed him over the side of the railing.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-!"

BOOM!

"What's that?" asked Lando, from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. He could see a huge explosion on the surface the Death Star II.

"I'm not sure, Lando," Ami said. "But I don't detect the presence of the force-field."

"Then we're going in!" Lando said, as he, Wedge Antilles and what was left of their attack force began their descent in the Death Star II's central core. They had to wait until Han and his team brought down the shield generator on Endor.

Ami nodded, as she turned her attention to the task at hand. With so many passage ways to navigate, she will have to guide the 'Falcon to the core…with Tie-Fighters on their tail. Ami used her quick reflexes, from years of video gaming, to navigate the various structures. Finally, they made it to the core.

"There it is!" Ami said.

Lando and Wedge fired their main guns at the core, toppling it in the process.

Soon an explosion began to cascade outward.

Back in the Emperor's throne room…

"Man, what a mess," Usagi said, as she surveyed the damage. Thankfully, she, Ranma, Luke and Leia erected a Force-barrier when the emperor blew up. Usagi then helped up Padme up.

"You okay?"

"I am…Anakin!"

Padme ran where Vader was lying.

"Ani?"

Vader slowly grabs Padme's hand.

"I…"

And with that, Vader dies…

"Usagi, you have to do something!"

"I'll…do my best.  
Tapping into her Silver Millennium Crystal, Usagi began to channel her energies into Vader's body.

"I have you, Usagi," Ranko says, as she touches Usagi's shoulder. "Everyone, channel your energies!"

Padme, Luke and Leia touch Usagi's shoulders. The love they all shared was enough to sustain Usagi long enough to change Vader's armor into a white version.

Padme steps back.

"Are you…okay?" Padme says warily.

Darth Vader takes off his helmet, and reveals the face of Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, whose body underneath was restored to normal; Anakin was just as handsome as he was before getting injured by Usagi.

Having healing abilities was handy.

The two shared a touching embrace.

"I…guess I am."

"Well?" Ranko asks.

"Well, what?" Anakin replies.

"Don't you have something to say?"

Anakin sighs.

"I'm sorry for not believing you when you said that Palpatine was a jerk."

"Apology accepted."

With the destruction of the second Death Star, and the death of Emperor Palpatine, the Imperial forces suffered a heavy defeat. Because of that, the Rebel Alliance, by default, won the war.

As for Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker, he and Padme moved to Dagobah for a time for healing and renewal. Thus, as far as the galaxy was concerned, only the Sith lord persona is the guilty one. There, they would get to now each other as husband and wife. Only Ranma, Usagi, Luke and Leia knew of this, and made sure that the Dagobah star system was removed from the public records.

Leia renounced the teachings of the Sith, though she kept her "light whip" weapon. Nevertheless, Luke will take on Leia as his apprentice, thus giving him the title Master.

"I am not calling you "master", Luke!" Leia proclaimed.

"Okay, okay!"

As for Han…

"It's okay. He's my brother."

Han looked at Leia in shock.

"Go on and kiss her, flyboy!" Usagi said, as he pushed Han into Leia.

Taking the initiative, Leia kissed Han deeply.

"Don't you love a happy ending?" Usagi said, as she tried to look cutesy

"…"

As for Ami Mizuno, she had left shortly after the victory celebration. As much as they wanted to remain, Setsuna "Sailor Pluto" Meioh felt that they have earned their peace. It was especially hard on Han and Leia, whom they saw the two as family.

"Big Brother, it's okay," Ami said.

"It's not fair, you know," replied Han.

Usagi and the two got together for one last time before Ami went back to her proper time and place. It wasn't a "good-bye"; it was a see you later. After all, the whole point was to insure that Usagi made it through this adventure just fine.

It would be a few years later when Ranma, Usagi and the others felt that it was time to move on. Usagi was confidant in Luke's abilities to rebuild the Jedi Order, Hoshi was glad to be done with the junk business, T'Pol's obligations to Naboo and her now grown children were over, and Ranma was ready for a new adventure.

But first…

"Leia, I just wanted to say that you are the closest that I have to a daughter."

"From what I recall…I am your daughter in a way."

"Huh?"

"Usagi told me what you did for my mother."

Leia hugs Ranma.

"Thanks. I'll never forget what you have taught me."

Meanwhile…

"Well, it looks like this is it," Usagi said, as she hugged her student.

"Where will you go?" asked Luke.

"Somewhere, out there, is my own time and place. I have to try to find a way home."

"I want you to thank you for bringing our family together."

"It was my pleasure."

"If you ever want to set up a business together-" Lando began.

"I know who to call, Lando."

"RRRRRORWRL!"

"I'll miss you too, big guy."

"Beeep-Beeep-Beerp!"

"I agree with R2, Mistress Tsukino."

"I'll certainly remember that, guys."

While Thumper said his guys, in his own special way, Usagi went to Han. Han wasn't good at saying good-byes.

"Han."

"Usagi."

Then they hugged.

"Take care, Han. I have faith in your abilities."

"Really?'

"Really."

And, with that, the crew of the _Serenity_ and Thumper left their friends behind.

"Thumper!"

"Yee-OW!"

"Take us to out of here. Destination: second star to the left, and straight into morning."

"Yee-OW!"

"Well, where do you think we'll end up next?" Hoshi asks.

"Hopefully, Vulcan," T'Pol replies dryly.

"Ranma, what are you thinking?" Usagi asked.

"I'm thinking that I'm going to be fine…"

**Fin.**

* * *

**Author's Note: This story continues in "Return of the Guardian of the Force". See you then...**


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